Teenage Stupidity With a Trace of Hormones
by You-Can't-Catch-Me
Summary: Sixteen-year-old twins Aria and Aaron have fairly normal lives after the return of their father. But after one party at de Sainte-Coquille Manor, will they ever be the same again? Rated for later content. Told from Aria's point of view. Now with extras!
1. The Beginning

**I got RF2 for Christmas, and now I'm hooked! This story may start off cute, but it will get very dramatic. So, here it is.**

"Aria!" someone said harshly. I felt something hit my hand, and I woke with a start.

"Ah!" I exclaimed. I opened my eyes to see Barrett, one of my teachers, standing over my desk. I looked around, and saw that all my friends were staring at me.

"Sleeping in class again?" Barrett asked. I had to think of something, and fast.

"No, sir," I replied. "I was…meditating, that's all."

"Then answer my question," he said. "What materials are necessary for making a zweihander?" I stared up at him, drawing a complete blank.

"Um," I started to say. "To make a zweihander, you need a…proof of warrior, and a-"

"Wrong, Aria," Barrett said. He sighed. "Class dismissed." Everyone got up from his or her seat, and darted out the door. I was still sleepy, so I took a little longer to leave.

"Nice job, Aria," Aaron, my twin brother, said to me as we left. "Barrett's probably going to tell Mom and Dad that we were causing trouble again."  
"What did you do to cause trouble?" I asked. Aaron looked around quickly.

"While you were asleep," he said in a whisper. "Leann and I were passing notes, and Barrett caught us." Leann de Sainte-Coquille was a member of the richest family in town, and very shy, so she went very well with Aaron…or so everyone thought.

"Aaron!" I exclaimed. "I thought you two were over!"

"Shut up!" Aaron hissed. "And it wasn't like that. She was asking me to tell everyone that she was having a party at the manor tomorrow when her family left to go visit some friends in Kardia."

"A party?" I asked, but before I could say anything else, someone came from behind me and lifted me off the ground.

"Roy!" I shouted. Roy didn't go to school, since he was too old, so he worked for his Mom in her shop, no matter how much he hated weapons.

"No!" Roy exclaimed. "You always guess right!"

"Well," I said. "You _are _the only boyfriend I have."

"Good point," Roy said with a laugh. "So, have you heard about the party?"

"Was I the last to know?" I asked.

"Pretty much," Roy said.  
"Um," Aaron said. "I'm going to head home. See you there, Aria." He walked off toward our house.

Roy and I looked at each other, and started walking. We always liked to take the long way home.

"He's so awkward," I said.

"He's your brother, though," Roy pointed out.

"So are you saying _I'm _awkward just because we're twins?" I asked jokingly.

"I guess I don't have any kind of answer to that one," Roy said. "I know how hard you can hit me…and that you're good with a sword."

"Yeah," I said.  
"Hey, Aria!" a voice called out. I turned around to see Leonel, Barrett's son, as well as Mayor Byron's grandson. He was girly looking, even though he hated to be told that. He was really nice, but I could never see him as my boyfriend, especially since I had Roy.

"Hey, Leonel," I said unenthusiastically.

"You've heard about the thing at the manor tomorrow, right?" he asked. I knew right away what he was up to.

"Don't ask me on a date, Leonel," I said, putting my hand in Roy's. "You know I'm taken." His face fell.

"See you later, Aria," he said, and went back into his house.

"He's a weirdo," Roy said.

"Yeah," I said. "But a very nice weirdo."

We continued walking, until we got to the inn, where another one of my classmates, Orland, was standing. He was three-quarters elf, and took after his father in the fact that he hated humans. As Roy and I walked by him, he glared at us.

"He's weird, too," I muttered.

"I wouldn't say that," Roy replied, making his voice a little louder as we walked past Orland. "I'd say he's more of a jerk than anything." I laughed, and we kept walking. As we passed by de Sainte-Coquille Manor, I sighed.

"Poor Leann," I muttered. "Always forced to be a lady."

"More like a hermit," Roy said. "She never leaves the house, other than to take a bath or go to school."

As we made our way past de Sainte-Coquille Park – which, of course, was owned by Leann's family – and into the east end of town, we passed by the clinic. Standing outside were Sera and Serena, the town doctor's twin daughters. It was very easy to get them confused, unless you got to know them.

"Hiya!" called Serena.

"Hi, Aria!" Sera called in an identical tone of voice.

"Have you heard about the party?" Serena asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "I have."

"I'm so excited!" Sera exclaimed. "See you later, Aria!"

"Sera never gets excited about social events," I whispered to Roy. "She'd rather just stay home and read, usually."

"I know," Roy said.

"Hello, Roy and Aria!" Cammy exclaimed, jumping out seemingly from nowhere.

"Hi, Cammy," I said. Cammy was the local priest's youngest daughter. She acted like an older sister to me, but it got kind of annoying sometimes. "Let me guess, you're going to Leann's party, too."

"How'd you know?" Cammy asked. "It's going to be great, though!" She paused. "Sorry I can't talk longer. The bath house is going to open soon. Bye!"

"Bye, Cammy," I said. She walked quickly toward the bath house, and went inside.

Roy and I turned the corner to go on to the property of the ranch that my dad, Aaron, and I all ran. He politely walked me up to the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow night," I said.

"Yeah," Roy replied. "I've got to head home. Mom usually likes me home around this time so I can help in the shop." I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. "Bye." He ran off toward his house.

The minute I walked into my house, I was immediately greeted by chaos.

"Mana," I heard my dad say from upstairs. "Are you sure you don't know where my hammer is?"

"I'm sure, Kyle," my mom replied. "I don't even know if I've ever touched it."

"What about you, Aaron?" Dad asked.

"I told you," Aaron said. "I think Aria has it. She went out early before school started." I felt angry with him, because that implied that I was going out into the dungeons to fight monsters.

"Well," Dad said. "She'd better get home soon, because there's a rock in the field the size of your head."

"Hi, Dad!" I called upstairs. He came down to the main floor.

"Do you have my hammer?" he immediately asked. I took the hammer out of my backpack.

"Not even a 'hello'?" I asked, handing it to him. He took it from me, and looked embarrassed.

"Sorry," he replied. "I'm just a little stressed out, because I need to plant the last of the summer crops today, and Douglas is hounding me to get the other vegetables in." He sighed. "So, how was your day?"

"Fine, Dad," I replied, leaving out the part about falling asleep in class, and of course, the party at Leann's.

"All right," he said. "I'm going to go take care of that rock, and then I might have you and Aaron deliver that produce to your grandfather."

"Okay," I said. "Just let me know." I ran up the stairs to go have a "chat" with Aaron.

I stormed into our room, and shut the door so Mom didn't hear what we were talking about.

"You're such an idiot!" I said to him. "Do you have to tell them everything I do?"

"What re you talking about?" Aaron asked. "I just said you went off somewhere this morning! For all they know, you could have just gone to see Roy!"

"With a hammer?" I asked.

"I guess you have a point," he said. "But still, I didn't go up to Dad and say 'Guess what? Aria went off into the Padova Mountains to mine and kill monsters!' I'm not seven anymore."

"Well," I said. "Here's an idea. _You_ don't tell Mom and Dad that I've been going into the dungeons, and _I _won't tell Mom and Dad that their precious baby of the family and Leann were kissing behind a tree!" Aaron blushed.

"How did you know that?" he asked.

"Aaron," I said. "I just completely made that up. I didn't know that." I paused. "So you _are _going out again!"

"Shut up!" he exclaimed. "And I'm not the baby of the family!"

"Let's see," I said. "There are only two children in our family, a boy and a girl. The boy was born ten minutes after the girl. What does that make the boy?"

"The younger twin," Aaron replied. "But _not _the baby."

"Okay," I said. "This is getting stupid, especially on your part. We're sixteen, remember?"

"Yeah," Aaron said. "At least I can find someone my own age."

"Now it's _your _turn to shut up," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"It's true," Aaron replied candidly.

"I _like _Roy," I said. "The only other boys in town that are my age are Orland, who is the biggest jerk I've ever met, and Leonel, who I would never go out with."

"Whatever," he said. "Who knows? Maybe Leann will invite some rich friends from out of town or something, and you can find a new boyfriend."

"I don't want a new boyfriend," I said. "I'm very content with Roy." I sat down on my bed.

"Aaron!" Dad called from downstairs. "Aria! I need you to deliver these vegetables to your grandfather's shop!"

"Okay, Dad!" I called down. Aaron groaned.

"I don't feel like carrying huge, heavy crates today," he whined.

"Tough," I said, opening the door and leaving the room. "Come on!"

"Fine," Aaron said, and we went over to Grandpa Douglas' shop.

**Sorry, that was kind of an abrupt and sucky ending. But the story gets better, I promise!**


	2. The Party

On Holiday, I found myself getting more and more excited for the party at Leann's as the day went on. I didn't know what it was, since I had never been to a real party before, and had no idea of what they were like. After finally choosing an outfit I liked, I put it on, and went into my room and made an attempt to do my makeup. To be honest, I'd never actually put much on in my life, but I tried. After all, from what I'd heard about parties, girls put on a lot of makeup.

"You look…interesting," Aaron commented.

"Why do we still share a room?" I asked in an irritated manner.

"Because there's no room in the house?" Aaron said, although it sounded more like a question. "Oh, I know! Because our parents didn't know they were having twins!" I rolled my eyes, and continued applying the makeup. "Why are you putting on makeup? Is it something to do with Roy?"

"No," I said. "It's because there's a party tonight! Honestly, Aaron, you didn't even bathe."

"Is that important?" he asked. "Ah, who cares? People will probably be so drunk, they won't even be able to tell." I stopped putting on makeup.

"Drunk?" I asked.

"And you act like you know about parties," Aaron scoffed. "I heard Leann talking to Sera and Serena the other day, and she said that her family imports the strongest liquor they have from out of town."

"You practically stalk Leann," I muttered.

"I do _not!_" he exclaimed. "I only stalked her when I was seven, but that's only because I didn't know any better, and I didn't have a father figure!"

"I was kidding," I said. "And you're forgetting that neither of us had a father figure when we were seven, and _you _were the only one that was messed up."

"I guess," he replied. "Although you would go out fighting monsters all the time."

"So did you!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah," he said.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Mom walked into our room.

"You two always have the door shut now," she said, smiling. "Typical teenagers. Aria, why are you putting on makeup?" On one hand, I was a little annoyed at being asked that question twice, but one the other hand, I froze, since I hadn't thought of an excuse for that. Luckily, Aaron covered for me.

"She's got a date with Roy," he said.

"Oh, really?" Mom asked. "Well, don't be out too late."

"They'll be fine," Aaron said. "I'm going too."

"How come I didn't know anything about this?" Mom asked.

"It was kind of last-minute," I said, figuring I should contribute to the conversation to make it seem less suspicious.

"Okay, then," Mom said. "I'll let you be." She left the room, closing the door behind her.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Did you just make that up on the spot?" I asked.

"Actually," Aaron said. "I had several different stories I could use, and just in case Mom didn't believe one of them, I had an alternate plan."

"Seriously?" I asked.

"You're pretty gullible, aren't you?" he asked. "Of course I just made it all up! I'm not _that _smart."

"I know," I replied. "But I wouldn't put it past you to be so devious. By the way, what time is it?"

"Time to go," Aaron replied.

"And…why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"Because you didn't ask," he replied.

"Ugh!" I exclaimed. "Aaron, you are _such _a pain! Come on, let's get out of here!" I grabbed him by the arm, and yanked him up off his bed. "You're lazy, too, now that I'm thinking of it."

"Why do you have to be so mean all the time?" he asked.

"Because I'm your older sister," I replied.

"I thought we already went over this," Aaron replied in a whiny manner.

"You're too old to whine like that," I said, completely ignoring why he was complaining. "Honestly, what does Leann even see in you?"

"The most attractive guy in the history of Alvarna," Aaron replied coolly.

"Okay," I said. "Shut up before I smack you."

"Sounds good," Aaron said, with his usual nervous laugh.

"Thank you," I said.

"Hey!" a voice called out. I looked off into the distance, and saw Roy waving at us.

"Hi!" I replied. I let go of Aaron, and ran up to Roy.

"Wow," he said. "You look really different."

"Different good?" I asked. "Or different bad?"

"Good," he replied. I stood on my tiptoes, and kissed him.

"Will you guys hurry up with the mushy stuff?" Aaron asked, coming up to us.

"Look who's talking," Roy said.

"Yeah," I said. "The future Mr. de Sainte-Coquille." Aaron turned bright red, and Roy laughed.

"I've never talked with her about marriage," Aaron said defensively.

"What, then?" I asked.

"I'm not telling _you!_" Aaron exclaimed. "You'll just make fun of me!"

"That I will," I replied. "Now, can we actually go to the party?"

"Yeah," Roy said, as we started to walk. "I think we're already past the point of being 'fashionably late'."

"Is there such a thing?" I asked.

"People say there is," Roy said. "But I don't believe in anything like that. It's too arrogant for my taste."

"Okay," I said.

"Can we get there any faster?" Aaron asked.

"We could always run," I replied.

"You're wearing a dress and fancy shoes," Aaron said.

"Thank you for that obvious statement," I said.

"Seriously, Aria," Roy said. "Do you _have _to treat your brother like a little kid?"

"I agree with him!" Aaron exclaimed.

"Well," I said. "Maybe if he didn't act like a little kid, I wouldn't have to treat him like one."

"I'm actually more mature than you think," Aaron said.

"Judging by your last comment about Leann," I said. "I'd say you're very, _very _mature."

"Can we _not _talk about this?" Roy asked. "It reminds me of the time when I was in Barrett's class."

"You mean the birds and bees one?" I asked. Roy nodded. "I don't know about Barrett, but it was really awkward with my _mother _teaching the class."

"I remember Barrett's," Aaron said. "It was horrible." I looked over and saw that his eyes were wide.

"Agreed," Roy said. "But I remember, it was especially traumatizing for me because I thought babies came from the crystals found in the dungeons."

"Your mom is so weird," I said, laughing. "Very nice, but very weird."

"Hey," Roy said. "She was the one who taught _your_ mom how to take care of you!"

"I don't know how my mother did it," I said. "Even with your mom's help, taking care of one baby, let alone two, is beyond me."  
"They kind of scare me," Aaron said.

"Of course they do," I said. "You're afraid they'll beat you up."

"That was mean," Roy said.

"Again!" Aaron exclaimed. "I agree with him!"

By the time we got to de Sainte-Coquille Manor, it was almost completely dark. I knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" someone called from inside. I couldn't tell if the voice was coming from Serena or Sera.

"Aria," I replied. "Aaron and Roy are also with me."

"Oh!" another voice exclaimed. The door flew open, to reveal a very messy-looking Leann, wearing a really short skirt. I was more than a little shocked; usually, she was perfectly groomed and proper.

"Wow, Leann!" Aaron exclaimed. He went up to her, and she kissed him slowly. "Are you drunk?"

"Completely!" she replied, much louder than I had ever heard her speak. "Come inside!"

Inside, it didn't seem like any party I'd ever heard of. In fact, everybody was so drunk, they couldn't have possibly known what was going on. I saw Roy look uncomfortable, and I felt the same.

"Let's just stick to the punch," he whispered in my ear.

"Good idea," I whispered back.

"I think I may join you," Aaron said. "I don't want Mom to kill me."

We walked over to the punch bowl, and each grabbed a glass. We filled them with punch, and drank.

"Oh, wow," I said. "This stuff is strong."

"I know," Aaron said. "But it tastes pretty good."

We stayed by the punch bowl for a little bit longer, but the more I drank from it, the stranger I felt. I could tell that Roy and Aaron were also acting a little weird. I couldn't tell what they were saying, but whatever it was, it was pretty funny, and I found myself laughing hysterically at everything, especially when Aaron passed out. I didn't know exactly why he did, though, so I probably shouldn't have laughed.

Before long, I didn't think I could be on my feet anymore. I seemed to be the only one standing up, aside from two people I couldn't recognize, although I felt as though I had seen them before. I went over to one of them, and kissed him. I didn't know why I did, because he obviously wasn't Roy.

"Do you want to?" I asked. He looked surprised, but smiled.

"Sure," he replied.

And that was all I could remember.

I opened my eyes, and found myself lying in my bed. But for some reason, I didn't remember how I got there. I looked around and saw Aaron, who was sitting on his bed and staring at me.

"What happened?" I asked. I tried to sit up, but my head started pounding as soon as I did. "Ow!"

"I was just about to warn you not to do that," Aaron said. "Do you remember anything at all?"

"Some things," I said. "But I can't seem to put anything in order." Aaron laughed.

"Guess neither of us can hold our liquor," he said.

Suddenly, I remembered the last few minutes before I passed out, and the minutes after I woke up. I felt my eyes widen in horror as I was able to recall who I was with, and where we had gone.

"Oh God," I said. "I went with Orland into the dining hall, didn't I?"

"Yeah," Aaron said. He sighed. "At least I was with Leann…and in an actual bed."

"So you did too!" I exclaimed.

"Shut up!" he hissed. "Do you want to wake up Mom and Dad? They're already going to be mad enough that we didn't come home until four in the morning!"

"Ha," I laughed. "That'll be nothing compared to how mad they'll be about the drinking and the-"

"We both know what happened," Aaron said. "There's no need to repeat it."

"Aaron," I said. "What about…Roy?"

"I don't think he'll remember," Aaron replied. "He passed out cold right after you did."

"I feel terrible," I said, tears stinging my eyes. "Even if he doesn't remember, I'll always know."

"I thought I was a nice guy," Aaron said. "I mean, I talk big, but I never thought I would do something so stupid." As strongly as I willed myself not to, I started to cry. "Aw, sis. Don't cry." I stopped crying a little. Aaron had called me "sis" as a term of endearment ever since we could talk, and for some reason, it always made me feel a lot better.

"Okay," I said. "But I guess it's kind of scary for me. I could…you know, get pregnant."

"That won't happen," Aaron said. "There's no way it could happen." I felt even better.

"We should probably go to sleep," I said.

"Sounds good," Aaron replied. "Although I doubt I'll be able to."

"I'll turn off the light anyway," I said, then sniffed. My nose was still running from crying.

I turned off the light, and after that, there was silence.


	3. The Consequence

It had been about a month since the party at Leann's, and everything seemed to return to normal. For some reason, though, I always felt guilty whenever Roy was around. I had tried to forget about Orland, but it just didn't work. Even stranger yet, Leonel always gave me a sad-eyed look whenever he saw me.

Unfortunately, I had caught some sort of stomach bug, which made me feel nauseous all the time. I usually wasn't one to complain about being sick, and I kept that up, despite my feeling of misery.

One day in class, though, I couldn't contain myself any longer.

"Aria," Barrett said. He had a tendency of calling on people who never raised their hands. "Can you tell me how to make a flare lance?" I hadn't been paying attention in class, due to my upset stomach.

"Barrett," I said. "I feel sick. Can I go see Ray?" Barrett sighed.

"That may have worked when you were ten," he said. "But now, it's time to answer the question."

"Actually," Cammy said, raising her hand. "She does look a little pale. And Leann is sick today too." Before I had time to wonder what was wrong with Leann, I ran outside as fast as I could, and threw up in one of the garden plots. When I was finished, embarrassingly enough, I saw that everyone had crowded around by the windows. And I still felt sick.

I went back inside the school, and everyone backed away.

"I guess you weren't kidding," Barrett said.

"Yeah," I said in an irritated manner. "You think?"

"You should probably go home," Barrett said.

"Oh," I said. "Believe me, I will."

I left school, and took a shortcut home. On the way, I couldn't help but think about what could be wrong. I never, ever, _ever _got sick, and when I did, I usually got a cold. But if Leann was sick, she could have possibly given it to me. As I got onto our property, I saw Dad working in the field, and he obviously saw me.

"What are you doing home?" he asked.

"I'm sick," I replied. "Barrett let me out of class. I think I have a stomach problem."

"A stomach problem?" he asked. "You never get sick like that."  
"I know," I replied. "But Leann is sick too. She might have the same thing."

"I see," Dad said. "Your mom isn't here right now, so if you need anything, just yell out the window or something. You probably shouldn't get out of bed more than you have to."

"Okay," I said. My stomach was starting to feel sick again.

I went upstairs to my room, and got right into bed. Normally, it would have been like torture to stay there for that long, but for some reason, I was really tired, and fell asleep right away, and didn't wake up at all, except for the occasional stomach pain.

I awoke to see Mom standing over me, with her hand on my forehead.

"Oh," she said. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Not well," I replied.

"Hm," she hummed, obviously in thought. "You don't feel warm at all."

"If you don't believe me," I said. "Ask your coworker."

"Barrett already told me," she replied. "We should probably take you to see Ray…or better yet, Natalie. She's more experienced with strange illnesses."

"I don't even want to get up," I moaned.

"Well," Mom said. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's probably necessary."

"Fine," I said. I stretched, and got out of bed, despite my feeling of sickness.

We went outside, where it was raining lightly. By the sky, it looked to be almost seven at night. I felt dizzy whenever I stood up, so even the short trip to the clinic was hard work. When we got there, Dorothy immediately greeted us. She was very shy, but Mom and Dad told me she used to be even shyer.

"H-Hello," she said. "How can I…help you?"

"Aria hasn't been feeling too well," Mom told her. "We wanted to see Natalie, if she's available."

"Sh-she is," Dorothy replied. For some reason, she looked at me and blushed. Natalie, who had been standing in the other half of the clinic, got up and walked toward us.

"So," she said, always enthusiastic. "You've been sick?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I've had an upset stomach for the past week or so, but it didn't feel terrible until today."

"All right," she said. "Let's take you back, and have a look at you." Mom and I followed her into one of the places where she or Ray did checkups.

I sat down on one of the beds, and prepared to be poked and prodded with random medical devices. I let Natalie do the checkup, and felt more and more dismayed as time went on.

"Well," Natalie said finally. "I just can't figure out what's wrong. Unless…"

"Unless what?" Mom asked.

"You're not going to like this, Mana," Natalie said. "I was going to say 'unless she's pregnant'." My eyes widened, and Mom's eyes got even wider.

"But Aria," Mom said. "I thought you and Roy were abstinent?"

"We are," I replied. My eyes were starting to majorly tear up. I wasn't a crier, but I really felt like I needed to.

"Aria," Mom said, lowering her voice and stroking my hair. "What happened?"

I didn't want to tell her anything. I didn't want her to know about the party, the drinking, going off with Orland. But I knew I couldn't keep a secret like that.

"I…" I started to say. The tears were coming down. "I…went to a party…about a month ago…there was drinking…" I paused, and started crying for real. Before long, I was so upset I could barely talk. "Orland." Through my teary eyes, I could see Mom look surprised, and Natalie looking sad, but calm. I wiped my eyes.

"I knew it from the start," Natalie said, sighing. "Babies with elf blood tend to heighten all pregnancy symptoms." With those words, I started sobbing uncontrollably again. Natalie, being a mother, put her hand on my shoulder. _My _mom, on the other hand, still appeared to be in shock. But she put her hand on me anyway, and rubbed my back as she usually did when I was upset.

"Mom," I said. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not me you should be apologizing to," Mom said, and sighed. "Your father is going to be absolutely livid."

"If I know Kyle," Natalie said. "Then there's no doubt he will be. But he'll have to learn to accept it eventually." I buried my face in my hands. "Don't worry, dear. Things will sort themselves out."

"Aria," Mom said, turning angry. She never really liked it when Aaron and I cried nonstop as kids, and it was the same when we were teenagers. "Please, pull yourself together. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but drinking yourself silly and running off with Orland was not a good idea. And now, you're going to have to deal with the consequences. Or in this case, a baby."

"Not necessarily," Natalie said. "Obviously, she'll still have to carry the baby to term, but that doesn't mean she'll have to raise it as her own. There's an orphanage in a neighboring village that will gladly take babies."

"I didn't consider that option," Mom said. "But…I guess it's up to Aria."

I didn't know what to say. On one hand, Orland was a jerk, and probably wouldn't be a good father. On the other, it was still my baby, and I didn't know if I would be able to let something like that go.

"Can I answer that later?" I asked.

"I don't expect you to answer now," Mom said. "But you _should_ answer as soon as possible."

"I'm afraid your mother is right," Natalie said. Right then, I made what could potentially have been the dumbest decision I made in my life.

"For now," I said. "I want to keep it." Mom looked surprised, as did Natalie.

"Well," Natalie said. "I'll schedule you for a checkup in a month. And let me know if you change your mind."

"Thank you, Natalie," Mom said.

"Yes," I said. "Thank you."

We walked out from the checkup room, and left the clinic. The rain was really starting to come down. Even though it was the summer, I felt cold. It could have been the fact that I was doomed, or that I had made the wrong decision in keeping the baby. Or maybe it was just the rain. At that point, I wasn't sure of anything.

**PLEASE READ: Poor Aria. Or so it seems. To the readers, you completely predicted the future. Now, there's just one little thing: right now, this story probably sounds like one of those "boo-hoo, I'm pregnant" stories, but I guarantee you, this story is going to turn out much differently. After chapters four and five (I think), you will _not_ be feeling sorry for Aria at all. You'll be sorry for Aaron. No! I've said too much! And as it says on my profile, the title and genres are probably going to change. Reviews are much appreciated.**


	4. Kyle Gets Angry

On the walk home, my feeling of dread heightened, along with my upset stomach. I didn't want to talk, but Mom did.

"I always knew you were adventurous," Mom said. "But I didn't expect something like this to ever happen."

"What am I going to do, Mom?" I asked, trying not to cry.

"I don't exactly know, Aria," Mom said, sighing. "I should have known, though. You really should be wearing something a little more…appropriate, if you know what I mean." I broke down, and found myself breathing in very sharply.

"You just called me fat!" I sobbed. "What kind of a mother _are_ you?"

"Aria, for goodness' sake," Mom said. "You seriously don't think that you won't be gaining any weight, do you? And don't you realize that you're just having a mood swing?" I wiped my eyes.

"Sorry," I said. "I guess you're right."

We continued the walk home in complete silence. The rain was starting to come down in buckets, and I shivered. As we opened the door to the house, I saw Dad writing in his diary at his desk.

"So," he said cheerfully. "What's the verdict?"

_This is it, _I thought.

"Kyle," Mom said. "Aria has something very important to tell you."

"Dad," I said, trying to hold back tears. "I'm…pregnant." Dad looked surprised, and looked at Mom.

"Is she being serious?" he asked.

"Serious as a grave," Mom replied. Dad's expression slowly changed from concerned to angry and disappointed., and his mouth slowly opened. I started to cry again.

"I went to a party at the Manor," I said, trying to be brave. "And I…got drunk, and then…" I broke down crying, because I couldn't tell the story again. Not to my own father, who was always so proud of me. My stomach started churning.

I heard someone come down the stairs, and I knew it had to be Aaron.  
"Mom," he said, right as I opened my eyes. "Dad. What's going on?" He looked at me, and saw me crying. "Oh no."

"I think I'm going to be sick," I whined.

"Don't try that," Dad said. "Is Roy the father?"

"Let her go outside," Aaron pleaded, seeming to forget that he was going to be an uncle. "If she throws up, then I'll throw up, and-"

"Shut up, Aaron!" Dad shouted. I was starting to get really scared, and Aaron went upstairs.

"Kyle," Mom said. "I don't think she's faking. Just let her go. She'll explain herself later." Before they could say anything else, I ran outside.

Outside, I couldn't help but let my thoughts wander, based on something Dad had said earlier. What was I going to do about Roy? I didn't think he would get mad, since that wasn't like him. But the poor guy would be so heartbroken. I had to tell Orland as well, but he wouldn't care. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and went back inside.

Dad stood in front of the door with his arms crossed, and Mom looked as though she had been trying to calm him down.

"Now will you answer my question?" Dad asked.

"Roy's not the father," I said. Even though I had managed to stop crying for a little while, I started again, because the guilt was so strong. "Orland is." Dad's cheeks, which normally looked very rosy and pleasant, turned so red they were almost purple. Dad and Jake, Orland's father, had been rivals ever since Dad moved to Alvarna. It was mostly Jake, though, and he hated humans.

After a few seconds of being completely terrified by Dad, he spoke. Or rather, screamed.

"_Orland!_" he shouted. "Damn it _all, _Aria, you know how I _hate _that kid and his father!"

"Kyle!" Mom exclaimed. "Watch your temper!" She paused. "We all have to deal with this. We all know you hate Orland and Jake, but please, try to control yourself. The baby will be Aria's too."

"I have to go pee," I whined. As much as I wanted to be out of there, it was true. I didn't have to a few minutes ago, and I usually had a very good bladder. Then, I remembered that I was pregnant.

"My God, Aria," Dad muttered. "You're acting worse than Aaron when you two were six years old and we went on that trip."

"She needs to take care of herself," Mom said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Go," Dad said with a wave of his hand.

I ran behind the house, where the outhouse was. After I relieved myself, I noticed that what Mom had said earlier was true, and I just hadn't noticed it.

"Wow," I said to myself. "I really _am _getting fat!" I left the outhouse, and ran back to the front door. I also noticed how tired I was, even just after running. However, instead of going inside, I opened the door just slightly, and listened to what Mom and Dad were saying.

"It's her decision," Mom was saying.

"It doesn't matter," Dad replied. "In my opinion, sixteen years old is far too young to be taking care of a baby. There isn't even enough room in the house!"

"We can always expand the house," Mom said. "We have enough money and enough lumber. And if she changes her mind, or isn't a good mother, the orphanage in the next town is always willing to take more babies."

"I suppose you're right," Dad said. I wanted to listen more, but by then, the rain was starting to come down in buckets. I went inside.

"I'm tired," I said, as soon as I got inside. "I'm going to sleep again." Mom caught me by the shoulder, and I turned around.

"Aria," she said. "As harsh as your father and I have been, we still love you and support you. You understand that, right?" The tears stung my eyes again.

"I know," I said, trying not to cry. I let go of her, and went upstairs.

Aaron was sitting on his bed when I got to our room. He was looking down at the floor.

"What?" I asked, getting under the covers of my bed.

"I just feel like somehow this is my fault," he said. "I mean, if I hadn't told you about that party, then none of this would have happened."

"Don't be ridiculous," I said, closing my eyes. "This is my fault, not yours. Now let me sleep, Aaron."

"Okay," he said, sounding relieved. I fell asleep soon after.

I woke up with a start, due to a loud _bang _from downstairs.

"What was that?" Aaron asked.

"I don't know," I replied. I stretched, but then heard something I never would have expected to hear.

"Oh, Leann!" Mom exclaimed. "Please, come in." Aaron perked right up, and ran downstairs.

_Leann? _I wondered. _I thought she was sick._ I ran downstairs as fast as I could. Of course, I was a lot slower because of the whole…thing.

Standing at the front door was Leann, completely soaked from the rain. She also appeared to be very upset about something.

"What's the matter?" Mom asked her.

"I…I just…" Leann stammered. She was starting to cry so hard that her shoulders were shaking. "I need to talk to you, Aaron."

"Okay," Aaron said. He took her hands. "What's wrong?"

"My parents kicked me out," she replied. "They said they're too ashamed of me to keep me with them." She started sobbing into Aaron's shirt.

"Why would they say that?" he asked. Leann sighed.

"I went to go see Natalie," she said. "Sh-she told me…that I'm pregnant."

Before she could start crying into Aaron's shoulder again, he collapsed.

"Aaron!" Leann cried.

"Don't worry," Mom said. "He's just fainted. Let me get a pitcher of water." She went over to the cupboard and rummaged around. She eventually found a pitcher, and went outside to fill it.

Leann and I looked at each other, then down at Aaron, then back at each other again.

"You must think I'm awful," Leann said. I laughed.

"No," I replied. "I don't think that." Without any warning, Leann ran up and hugged me.

"You're a saint, Aria," she said. I pushed her away.

"Okay," I said. "Don't get too excited. It's just that…I have the same predicament going on right here." I pointed to my stomach. Leann's eyes widened.

"Oh God," she said. "Is it because you went off with-"

"Don't say his name," I said. "I'm mad enough at him."

Suddenly, Dad came down the stairs. He had probably been asleep as well. When he caught sight of Aaron passed out on the floor and Leann looking worried.

"What the hell is going on here?" he demanded. Mom walked through the door, full pitcher of water in hand.

"It'll all be explained later," she said. She poured the water all over Aaron. He sputtered, and sat up.

"So I'm going to be a dad?" he asked. Again, Dad's face turned purple, but he didn't start screaming.

"Aaron," he said. "Are you saying you got your girlfriend pregnant?" Aaron's eyes turned as big as saucers.

"Yes," he said timidly. Then, Dad started screaming.

"God damn it!" he shouted. "What the hell are we going to _do?_"

"Kyle, please!" Mom exclaimed.

"Don't 'Kyle, please' me!" Dad protested. "We're going to be grandparents!" I noticed that both Leann and Aaron were hiding behind me.

"You guys are so immature," I muttered.

"Apparently not," Mom said. "Now, let's try and see if we can all calm down. Maybe we can all talk about this like civilized human beings. Kyle, take a deep breath, and we can sit down." Dad took a deep breath. I was relieved, since I hadn't seen Dad that angry since the time I went into the dungeons when I was twelve and nearly got my head chopped off by a necro.

The five of us sat down at the table.

"So," Mom said. "Leann, did Natalie tell you how far along you are?"

"Same as Aria," Leann replied. "It was at my party that it happened."

"So you're both about a month along," Mom said. "And you have nowhere to stay?"

"Not really," Leann replied. "I would have stayed at the Inn, but my parents didn't give me any money. And I didn't want to be around Orland and Jake all the time, even though Cecilia is nice." I rolled my eyes. Leann wasn't exactly the smartest girl I had ever met.

"You're welcome to stay with us," Mom said.

"Mana-" Dad said, obviously trying to contradict her decision.

"No, Kyle," Mom said. "We are not going to throw this poor girl out onto the streets!"

"I guess you're right," Dad replied. He turned to Leann. "You can sleep in Aria and Aaron's room." Aaron's expression changed to a very excited one, and Dad noticed. "Aaron, don't even think about it. You will sleep on the main level of the house. We'll use some spare blankets to make you a bed."

"Why?" Aaron whined.

"It would be inappropriate for you to share a room with Leann," Mom scolded. "And both of the girls need their rest. They deserve proper beds, and you are the person least in need of a bed right now." Aaron sighed, but then looked at Leann.

"Fine," he said.

"So that's resolved," Mom said. "But there's still one little thing. Aria, you need to tell both Roy and Orland about what's going on."

"Won't they find out eventually?" I asked. "You know, when I start getting really big?"

"It's best to tell them now," Dad said. "You need to tell Roy, because he needs to know that the baby isn't his, so he doesn't feel obligated to help you to care for it."

"And you need to tell Orland," Mom said. "So he knows that the baby _is _his, and so he might find it in his heart to be a father."

"I doubt Orland would even consider taking care of a kid," I said. "He's always too focused on school."

"Either way," Dad said. "You're going to have to tell him."

"I guess you're right," I said with a heavy sigh. I was starting to get tired again.

"Well," Mom said. "You girls should probably go upstairs and get some rest. Aaron, I'll set up your bed down here." I trudged up the stairs, but on the way, I saw Aaron and Leann talking. I decided to listen.

"Don't worry," Aaron said. "We'll get through this." Then, he kissed Leann.

I began running up the stairs. When I got to my room, I shut the door and broke down crying. Roy was going to hate me, and there was no chance Orland would want anything to do with me. After a minute or so, there was a knock at the door.

"Aria," Leann said. "Will you please open the door?" Even though I didn't want anyone to talk to me, I got up and opened the door. Leann had changed into a nightgown.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I…just wanted to go to sleep," she said, sounding confused.

"Oh, sorry," I said. "I guess I forgot we're sharing a room."

"Are you crying?" she asked.

"I was," I replied. "But never mind. I'm tired too. Let's just go to sleep."

"Okay," Leann said.

I didn't even bother changing. I just took off my shoes, and got into my bed. Without even turning off the lights, I went right to sleep.


	5. Insults, Lovers, and Weird Cooking

The next day was rough. Normally, I woke up at six and helped Dad with farming, but that day, I woke up about three hours earlier, and had to run out to the outhouse to throw up. I went right back to sleep, but then some time later, Leann had the same problem. Of course, she managed to wake me up in the process. Aaron couldn't have slept either, because whenever someone thundered down the steps to go to the outhouse, he would wake up. Since all of that was happening, the only people in the house to get any sleep were Mom and Dad. And poor Aaron still had to go to school at nine.

When I finally came down the stairs, it was almost time for school.

"Thanks for letting me sleep," he said, resting his head in his hand.

"You think I got any sleep either?" I asked. "Leann kept me up all night."

"No, I don't think you got any sleep," he replied. "And speaking of Leann, I just was under the impression that usually the _baby _wakes up the father in the middle of the night."

"Oh," I said, putting my hands on my hips and narrowing my eyes. "So now you're a father?" I sat down across from him at the table.

"Don't even go there," he said, narrowing his eyes right back at me.

Mom came in from outside.

"I'm sensing some bad feelings between you two," she said.

"She's the reason I didn't get any sleep last night!" Aaron shouted.

"And it's not my fault!" I retorted.

"For the love of God," Mom said. "Aria and Aaron, don't you just realize you're both tired, and that one of you is hormonal? Imagine if your father saw this!"

"Sorry, Mom," we said in unison. However, we continued to glare at each other.

Leann came skipping down the stairs.

"Good morning!" she exclaimed. She kissed Aaron on the cheek, and I felt my expression change from angry to angrier.

"You realize she's been throwing up all night," I told Aaron. I turned my glare to Leann. "And how the hell can you even be happy right now?"

"I've had a revelation," she replied. "I've decided that having a baby is a wonderful thing, and I'm happy to be sharing it with your brother. Is that so wrong?"

"Ooh, 'revelation'," I said. "What a big word! Congratulations, Leann!" Leann whimpered.

"A-Are you saying I-I'm…stupid?" she asked. I didn't give any sort of response, but nonetheless, Leann ran back upstairs crying.

"Aria!" Mom exclaimed. "Now you've gotten her good and upset! What's gotten into you?"

"A baby," I replied. Mom sighed.

"Go and apologize right now," she said.

"No!" I exclaimed in disgust. "She's completely rubbing it in my face that by the end of the day, I probably won't have a boyfriend!"  
"I don't care," Mom said. "Insulting Leann about her level of intelligence was completely uncalled for."

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty so I apologize to her?" I asked. Mom nodded. "Fine."

I got up from my chair, and went upstairs, actually feeling a little bit bad about my actions. Even though Leann wasn't all that smart, she had probably never been told that in her entire life. I opened the door to my room without knocking, and saw Leann sobbing pitifully into her hands. For some reason, it made me want to cry too. But then, I snapped out of it, realizing it was just the hormones.

"Leann," I said. "I'm sorry I called you stupid. I really didn't mean it." She stopped crying a little.

"Thank you, Aria," she said. "And I'm sorry I made you feel bad about-"

"It's okay," I said. "You were brave to tell Aaron about your baby. I'll just have to follow suit."  
"You've always been brave, Aria," Leann said.

"I can deal with monsters," I said. "But maybe not angry or brokenhearted boyfriends. Which reminds me, I should probably get going."  
"Good luck," Leann said.

I walked over to the sword shop, where Roy worked for his mom. I felt my stomach start churning, probably due to the fact that I was about to give Roy the worst news of his life. I found myself walking slowly, probably trying to delay the whole thing. Eventually, I got to the sword shop.

When I opened the door and went inside, I saw Roy shining a very sharp-looking sword.

"Aria!" he exclaimed cheerfully. "I thought you were sick!"

"I still am," I replied.

"Oh," he said. "Then why are you here? I was actually planning on visiting you. You didn't need to drag yourself out of bed just to see me!"

"Can we step outside?" I asked. He started to pick up the sword he had been shining. "Uh…you can leave that." I quickly went outside, and Roy followed.

"Did you hear Leann got kicked out of her house?" he asked as we started to walk. "Max and Julia must have found out about that party. And Herman must have been pretty pissed that all the alcohol was gone."

"I knew," I replied. "She's actually staying at our house."

"Seriously?" Roy asked. "Your parents must be really nice."

"Actually," I said. "They kind of had to take her in. She's pregnant, and so am I." Roy stopped dead in his tracks.

"What?" he asked. "You're…is it mine?" I took a deep breath, and sighed heavily.

"No," I replied. "It's not." I looked up, and saw that Roy was frowning.

"I never thought something like this would happen," he said. "I thought we…"

"I _do _love you, Roy," I said, taking his hands. "It was a mistake. We were both drunk, and you passed out, and I went off with Orland, and-"

"Orland?" he asked, his voice sounding not angry, but sarcastic and irritated. He pulled away. "So you'd really sink that low?"

"I'm so sorry," I said.

There was an awkward silence, and we just stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Well," he said. "I guess I'll go back to the shop. My mom probably needs me. I don't think we'll be seeing each other around."

"I understand," I said. I couldn't believe what I was saying. As Roy turned around and left me, I felt my eyes start to tear up.

_If Roy is a nice guy, _I thought. _How is a jerk like Orland going to handle all this?_

I knew lunch wasn't until noon, so I just stood in front of the school for a few hours. I had no idea how I did it, since I usually couldn't sit or stand still for more than five minutes. Finally, people started leaving the school building to eat lunch outside. Unfortunately for me, the first people to come outside were Orland, with Sera and Serena on either side of him.

"Orland!" I called. He pretended to ignore me. "Hey, you jerk! I'm talking to you!" That caught his attention.

"Excuse me," I heard him say to the twins. He swaggered toward me. "What is it?"

"Is that any way to talk to me?" I asked.

"Look," he said. "If this is about that night, I'm really not interested in being your new boyfriend, especially if that idiotic Roy dumped you."  
"First of all," I said. "You're an ass."

"And?" he asked, as if he had somewhere to go. People were starting to crowd around.

"I'm pregnant with your baby!" I exclaimed. Everyone gasped except Aaron, and I realized I had said that just a little too loudly.

There was an awkward silence.

"Like I said," Orland said. "Not interested."  
"Ooh!" Sera cried.

"What a stud!" Serena exclaimed.

"I thought you were my friends," I said in horror. They paid no attention, and walked off, continuing to fight over Orland. Cammy also walked back toward a tree where she liked to sit and eat lunch. Aaron also walked to the steps of the school, his favorite lunch spot. The only person left there was Leonel.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"I just…" he stammered. "I don't know, I just thought if there was any way I could, you know, help-"

"Leave me alone, Leonel," I said angrily. And I was angry. What could he have been thinking? I didn't need help from a weirdo like him. He took my advice, and walked off. He sat down in a corner with his lunch, where nobody could see him.

I walked over to Aaron, and sat down next to him.

"How did it go with Roy?" he asked.

"How do you think?" I asked him back. Aaron sighed.

"I can't stop thinking about Leann," he said. "Do you think Barrett would let me out of class to see how she's doing?"

"Probably not," I said. "I wonder when we'll actually have to go back to school."

"After you stop throwing up every five seconds," Aaron said.

"Trust me," I said. "I can't wait for that to be over either. But then again, school isn't too fun either. I guess Mom could home school us for a while, though."

"And then," Aaron said. "You and Leann could make up your cooking and forging and stuff when you're feeling better." I was starting to feel nauseous again.

"Ugh," I muttered. "I thought morning sickness was only supposed to happen _in the morning._"

"I would think so, too," Aaron said. "Do you want to share my lunch?"

"No thanks," I said. "I'm not feeling so great, and there's plenty of food at home if I actually do get hungry." I suddenly felt overcome with sadness. I wasn't sure of what brought it on, though.

"Just thought I'd ask," he said. He looked over at me. "Sis? What's wrong?"

"I don't know," I said. "Maybe it's because nobody's going to be there for me when the baby is born."

"Your family will be there," he said.

"Not like that," I replied.

"Well," he said, sighing. "Maybe some really good-looking guy will move in. A guy that…has a fetish for pregnant teenagers that can use magic and a sword." I laughed.

"I'm sure that will happen," I said. "I'm feeling a lot better now. Tired, but better. I think I'll head home." I slowly got up.

"All right," he said. "Glad to help my older sister." I paused.

"You just admitted I was older!" I exclaimed, a smile creeping onto my face. He smiled back, and continued eating his lunch.

As I walked home, I took the shortcut. I wanted to get home quickly, after all. When I walked onto our property, I started to feel sick again. Dad was working out in the fields, as usual. However, he stopped working when he saw me.

"How did everything go?" he asked.

"Not well," I replied. "Roy was upset, and Orland acted as though he had something better to do." He walked over to me.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "And, well…I'm really sorry about how I treated you and Aaron yesterday. You two didn't deserve to be yelled at. I mean, the choices you made were bad, but now it can't be helped." He paused. "And to be honest, I can't be mad at you guys for too long. After all, you two saved me _and_ the whole town!"

"I'm sorry too," I said. He stepped closer, and hugged me.

"I know I sound like your grandfather," he said. "But you'll always be my little girl, no matter what happens." He let go.

"I know," I said, trying to avoid tears. "Speaking of Grandpa Douglas…does he know yet?"

"Your mom is going to tell him when she's coming back from work," Dad replied. "After all, he'll probably be wondering why we'll be buying jars of pickles and green olives over the next few months."

"Pickles and green olives?" I asked.

"That's what your mom ate," he said with a shrug.

"Well," I said. "That explains a lot. I'm going inside."

"Okay," Dad said. "And you don't need to worry about being quiet. Leann is in the outhouse."

"Of course," I muttered.

I went inside and climbed up the stairs. When I got to my room, I went straight to bed. I wasn't sure how long I was asleep, though, because I felt someone shake me.

"Aria?" Leann's voice asked. I opened my eyes.

"What?" I demanded crankily.

"How do you cook?" she asked again.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked.

"No," she replied. "Not at all. I've never cooked in my life. Ceci usually does all the cooking, and-"

"I didn't mean for that to be answered, Leann," I muttered. "We don't have the best kitchen here, so we'll have to go back to school."

"Oh no," Leann said with a heavy sigh.

"What?" I asked.

"If we go back to school," she said. "People might still be there, and they'll ask questions."

"It'll be fine," I said. "People are going to find out eventually, so why not now? Come on, let's get out of here."

We walked to school in complete silence. I could tell Leann was scared out of her mind; she was one of those people who always cared about what everyone else thought. When we got to school, we went straight for the workshop to do some cooking. Honestly, I wasn't the best cook, but I was probably better than Leann. The two of us walked over to the refrigerator.

"All of this looks delicious," I said.

"I know," Leann replied. Before I knew it, our hands were reaching for random ingredients that I never would have used.

"I'll start boiling some water!" I called.

"I'll keep grabbing more stuff," Leann said. I noticed a package of pasta on the floor, and snatched it up. I poured the contents into the pot of water, and waited for Leann to come back with more food.

"What are you taking from there?" I asked her.

"Just some honey, curry powder, apples, and an egg," she replied. "So far." I felt my mouth start watering.

"Sounds delicious," I said. "The water's really starting to bubble up!" I realized that in my excitement, I had turned the stove up all the way. I turned it down to the point that the water wasn't boiling quite so much.

"Throw some of this in," Leann said, walking over to me with a can of spice. "I don't know what it is, but it smells really good."

"It's paprika," I said. "Read the label next time." Leann laughed, so I figured she was in a good mood. I sprinkled some of the paprika into the pot.

"Can I try stirring?" she asked.

"I think you can manage," I replied. "I'll chop up some apples, and fry the egg. Here's the spoon. Try not to burn yourself."

"I won't," she said.

As we continued cooking, I tried to make conversation.

"So," I said. "Did your parents have any other reason for kicking you out?"

"Besides being ashamed of me?" she asked. "Not really. I think that was probably enough for them."

"I just don't get it," I said. "Our parents have pretty much always been friends."

"Your parents are less strict," she replied with a sad sigh. "And our family is well-known throughout Norad. I think if word got out about me, my entire family would lose its reputation." I felt bad for her. Maybe that was why she misbehaved behind her parents' back.

"That sucks," I said. I turned my attention back to the food. "God, this smells amazing."

"I know," Leann said. "I can't wait to eat it! It feels like I haven't eaten anything in days."

"Well," I said. "I think it's almost finished."

"I'll get some plates from the shelf," she said, handing me the spoon. She walked over to the shelf, and grabbed some two plates and two forks.

"I think it's done," I said. Leann held out a plate, and I put some of the pasta on it. I then slapped a large helping of the pasta onto the second plate, and turned off the stove.

"Where should we sit?" Leann asked.

"I think we can just sit against the wall," I said. "It won't make a big difference."

"Wow!" Leann exclaimed. "My first meal not sitting at a table!"

"I…guess you could think of it that way," I said. I leaned against the wall, and sat down. Leann followed.

Without even letting the food cool, we started eating.

"Aria!" Leann cried. "Your manners are atrocious!"

"I'm hungry," I said with my mouth full of food. Leann closed her eyes, and I swallowed what I had been chewing. "Look. My table manners are usually just fine, but I haven't eaten in a really long time."

"You have a good point," she said. "But I'm hungry too, and I'm not eating like an orc."

"Well," I said. "You just worry about yourself, okay?"

"Okay," Leann replied. "But soon, we're both going to have to worry about others."

"And who might 'others' be?" I asked. I shoveled some more pasta into my mouth.

"Babies," she replied.

"Ah, yes," I said. "Sorry. I keep forgetting."

"How can you forget?" she asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "Maybe the giant belly will be a reminder later on."

I heard the workshop door open.

"We're going to get caught!" Leann whispered.

"Caught doing what?" I asked.

"Leaving the kitchen a mess," she replied.

"Oh, yeah," I said.

"Let's hide!" she whispered. Without any warning, she grabbed me by the arm, and yanked me up. Then, she dragged me behind the shelf.

"Hello?" someone asked. I recognized it as Leonel's voice.

"Shit," I muttered. "This is _not _a good hiding place, Leann!"

"I can hear you, Aria," he said. "And Leann, next time you try to hide somewhere, don't wear one of your huge skirts."

_What a creep! _I thought.

"Fine," Leann said, sighing. She stepped out of out the really bad hiding place, and I decided to follow.

"Let me guess," I said. "You're going to tell Mr. Teacher-Daddy-Dearest that we ransacked the kitchen and stole all of the food." Leonel looked confused.

"Do you really think I'm that much of a loser?" he asked, smiling slightly. "I'm not going to tell on you. Dad was going to use the apples tomorrow for a lesson, but don't worry about it. I'll just make something up." We both breathed a sigh of relief.

"In that case," I said. "You're not a loser."

"I feel so flattered," he replied.

"She meant to say thanks," Leann said.

"By the way," he said. "What the hell were you guys eating? I saw the apples, but couldn't figure out what anything else was."

"I forget already," I said with a laugh. "I guess it's one of those weird craving things."

"And Leann?" he asked.

"I'm pregnant too," she replied.

"Well," he said. "That explains a lot. Do you need help cleaning up?"

"That would be…nice," I said.

"But," he said. "I need some things to look messed up if Dad's going to buy my excuse."  
"Which is?" I asked.

"A chipsqueek invasion," he replied. Leann and I laughed.

"I take it your dad doesn't go into the dungeons?" I asked.

"Nope," he replied.

We quickly cleaned up the plates, pots, pans, and silverware, but left out some of the uncooked food to make it look like a chipsqueek had gotten into the workshop. When we were finally finished, we thanked Leonel and left.

"He seems different," Leann said as we walked home.

"I know," I said. "Less weird."

"Maybe he's finally grown up," Leann said. I laughed.

"Ha," I said. "I doubt that. But if you think that, I'm not going to fight you on it."

"That's nice of you," she said.

"I think I'm going to take another nap when we get home," I said.

"I'll let you sleep, then," she said.

We continued to talk, and before we knew it, we were already home.

**Wow...that is pretty much the longest freaking chapter in the history of me! The ending was kind of lame, though.**

**Before you R & R, I'd just like you all to recognize Cass The Homicidal Maniac, who I know has read at least some of this story. Our RF2 fanfics, coincidentally, are both about Aria getting pregnant! I didn't read her story until after I published this, even though hers was here first. So, I'd like to thank Cass for being nice enough to review this story, and not pointing fingers saying I'm a copier...which I'm not. I promise. Like I said, HERS WAS HERE FIRST!  
**

**Now you can proceed.  
**


	6. A Rough Day at School

One night at dinner, Mom made an announcement.

"You girls can go back to school tomorrow," she declared. Leann had been drinking some water, and she started coughing.

"What?" I asked.

"Aria's right," Aaron said. "Leann is in no condition to be going back to school."

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "What about your sister?"

"Don't yell at me," Aaron said, cringing.

"I just feel sick," I replied. "Sick and fat." It was true. It had been about four weeks since I had found out about what was really going on. Leann had barely changed at all, except for a little weight gain. I, however, had gained a lot more weight and a belly to go with it. It just wasn't fair.

"Exactly," Aaron continued. "They _both _feel sick all the time, and they always throw up."

"I was getting to that," Mom said. "According to Natalie, Ray, and even Dorothy, there is sort of a cure for morning sickness."

"What?!" Leann and I exclaimed.

"No offense," Leann said. "But…could you have told us sooner?"

"I'm sorry, dear," Mom said. "I didn't think to ask until today. And I didn't remember what I should have from sixteen years ago." She lifted a heavy-looking bag onto the table.

"What's in the bag?" Aaron asked.

"Lemons," Mom replied.

"And how is that going to help?" I asked.

"You smell them," Mom said. "And it makes your stomach feel better. It worked for me when I was pregnant with you and Aaron. Try one." She opened the bag, and took out a lemon. I took it from her, and used my knife to cut it in half. I took a whiff, and immediately felt better.

"Thank God!" I exclaimed. "It works!"

"I told you so," Mom said, smiling. "You try one now, Leann." Leann took the other half of the lemon, and smelled it.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "That smells _so _good!"

"But do you feel better?" I asked.

"I wasn't feeling sick," she said. "I just did it because your Mom told me to." I rolled my eyes.

"Well," Mom said. "Hopefully it'll work tomorrow at school."

The next day at school, the lemons really worked. However, the way everyone behaved was worse than what I expected.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, after feeling something hit the back of my head.

"What is it, Aria?" Barrett asked, turning away from the board.

"I don't know," I replied. Then, I heard a high-pitched giggle from behind me.

"Serena!" Barrett exclaimed, obviously figuring out who it was.

"I'm Sera," the twin replied.

"Don't try that," Barrett growled.

"Fine," Serena said. "So what if I threw something at her?" I turned around, and saw that there was a crumpled ball of paper behind me. I picked it up, and opened it. It was a drawing of a pregnant stick figure with a sword. I stood up.

"Serena!" I shouted. "You're such a bitch!" The room fell silent.

"Well," someone behind me said. "You're a whore." It was Sera.

"I've had enough of that in my class!" Barrett declared. "Aria, you can sit down. The three of you can see me during lunch. _Separately._"

School continued on.

"Class dismissed," Barrett finally said. "You may go outside to lunch. Except for the three of you." He pointed to Sera, Serena, and me. As soon as everyone was outside, Sera spoke.

"When can we go eat lunch?" she whined.

"When I say you can," Barrett replied. There was a long pause. "You two can go wait in the hall." Sera and Serena turned, and walked out to the hallway.

Barrett sat down at his desk, and gestured for me to pull up a chair.

"Are you going to tell my parents?" I asked, dragging a chair up from one of the desks.

"I have to," Barrett replied. "But knowing them, I'm sure they'll understand what happened. You've never been the kind of kid that causes trouble." My stomach started to churn, and I quickly took a half of lemon out of my pocket and smelled it.

"So," I said. "Why are we talking right now?"

"Because you _did _contribute to the problem," he said. "I get that you're probably not feeling your best right now, but you've got to learn to control your emotions. And from what Dorothy tells me, too much stress isn't good for pregnant women."

"I guess Dorothy's right," I said. "And I'm sorry for disrupting your class like that."

"Apology accepted," he replied, smiling a little. "You can go and eat now."

"Thanks," I said. I took my lunch off my desk, and went outside. I ignored Sera and Serena's glares.

"Did he get mad?" Leann asked, running up to me.

"Actually, no," I replied. "I think Sera and Serena are going to get in trouble, though."

"Good," Aaron said. "They were pretty mean."

"Yeah, you think?" I asked sarcastically.

"I'm serious!" he exclaimed. "I just think it's weird for a guy to call a girl a bitch!"

"You just did," Leann said.

"Oh," he said, putting his hand around her waist. "I'm sorry. Did I offend you?" He paused for a second. "Wow."

"What?" Leann asked.

"Nothing," he replied.

"I'm starved," I said, changing the subject. "Let's eat."

"I have to eat inside at my desk," Leann said. "Otherwise, it'll be too hot, and there are too many bugs. Besides, I don't want my dress getting dirty." I sighed.

"We can't exactly do that right now," I said. "Barrett is probably giving Sera and Serena a lecture in the classroom."

"I'll empty out my backpack," Aaron said. "You can sit on that. We'll also sit under a tree so it won't be so hot."

"You're so sweet," Leann said, looking at him adoringly.

_Or she could just tough it out and not make him go to all that trouble, _I thought.

Aaron walked over to a cherry tree far away from everyone else, and emptied out his backpack. He spread it out on the ground, and Leann sat down on it. As we started eating our lunch, Leann spoke.

"I really have to use the restroom," she said quietly. "Excuse me." She got up, and went running for the school.

I noticed an old book in Aaron's pile of stuff that was in his backpack. I picked it up and looked it over.

"A parenting book?" I asked. "Are you seriously reading this?"

"Hey!" he said, snatching it out of my hands. I saw that he was blushing. "I was going to give that to Leann!"

"Sure," I replied sarcastically. "And that's why it says 'for fathers' on the cover."

"Fine," he muttered. "You got me. But if I tell you why, will you promise not to make fun of me?"

"Okay," I said.

"I want to be a good dad," he said. "I don't want to just sit there doing nothing! I actually want to help out with the baby when he or she comes. I thought this would be a good way to do it." He sighed.

"Aw, little brother," I said, giving him a hug. "That's not something I would make fun of you for! At least you want to be involved."

"Thanks," he said.

As we continued eating, Leann came back from inside the school.

"I've just had the most brilliant idea!" she exclaimed, sitting down on Aaron's backpack.

"What is it now?" I asked. I recalled a time two weeks earlier when she thought it would be a good idea to put curry powder on cheesecake.

"Don't worry," she said. "It's much better than curry cheesecake. And it involves Alicia."

"Alicia?" Aaron asked. "Why her?"

"Well," Leann said. "I've heard that she can predict the sex of a baby."

"I've heard of that," Aaron said, nodding.

"So have I," I replied. "Apparently, she told Barrett and Dorothy that Leonel was going to be a girl!" Aaron and Leann looked at each other, and it seemed like they were trying not to laugh. "Oh, that's disgusting."

"I say it's worth a try," Aaron said. He turned to me. "Aren't you curious, Aria?"

"I guess," I said.

"Great!" Leann exclaimed. "Let's go find her after school! But we can't tell Natalie, of course. She'll be really mad."

"Don't get too excited," Aaron said. "We've still got more than two hours left of school." I realized that we were the only ones outside. I took the lemon half out of my pocket, and smelled it. I got up, and started walking as quickly as I could to school.

I barely paid attention during Mom's class, and as soon as she said "class dismissed", Aaron, Leann, and I ran outside.

"Wait," I said. "We're going to have to pool our money."

"Why?" Leann asked.

"Do you seriously think Alicia would tell our fortunes free of charge?" I asked.

"Good point," Leann muttered. "I only have fifteen gold."

"Really?" I asked. "We need at least forty. I've got twenty. Aaron?"

"Perfect," he said. "I have five."

"You're such a moocher!" Leann exclaimed.

"You're the one with the baby!" he replied.

"Okay, guys," I said. "This really isn't worth getting into an argument about." I paused, and the two of them took deep breaths. "Alicia usually hangs out by the port to get to Blessia Island. Let's go."

We walked down to the port, with Aaron at the lead. After all, he could go the fastest. Sure enough, Alicia was there, looking very unhappy. When she saw us, however, her face lit up.

"Well!" she exclaimed. "If it isn't my best customer!"

"Thank you," Leann said. "But I think Rosalind holds that record."

"Anyway," Aaron said. "We've come about-"

"No!" Alicia cried. "Don't tell me! It's about your baby, isn't it?"

"Uh…yeah," Aaron replied. "How did you know?"

"I see all," Alicia replied. "And I imagine Aria's here for the same reason."

"I am," I replied. "How much is this going to cost?"

"Since Leann _is _my best customer," Alicia said, obviously in thought. "And you're probably going to be needing your money in the next few months…I'll tell both of your fortunes for thirty gold!"

"What a bargain!" Leann exclaimed. "Predict my future first!"

"All right," Alicia said with a slight laugh. "I'm going to need to feel your stomach, though. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Leann replied.

"And in order to get a more accurate reading," she said. "I'll need for Aaron to do the same."

"O…kay?" Aaron said, although it sounded more like a question than an agreement. He did what she asked, though.

Alicia muttered some sort of incantation with her eyes closed, and made a face. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and looked very surprised.

"I see it!" she cried. "Congratulations, Leann and Aaron! You're going to have a beautiful baby girl."

"A girl!" Leann squealed. "Oh, Aaron! Can't you see us with a little girl?" She quickly kissed him, and he blushed.

"Yeah," he said, after he had recovered. "I can imagine that." I could see that he was smiling broadly.

"Can you see about me now?" I asked. I actually was kind of curious.

"Of course, Aria," Alicia said. "It would be helpful if Orland was here, but I can probably get a reading without him." She put her hand on my stomach, and said the same incantation with her eyes closed. However, instead of opening her eyes and looking shocked, she frowned.

"What?" I asked.

"Very interesting," she muttered. "Don't worry, though. I'm not seeing anything bad."

"Then what exactly _are _you seeing?" I asked. Although Alicia had said not to worry, I couldn't help but do so.

"It's very odd," she said. "For some reason…I'm seeing both male and female."

"What?" I asked.

"It's probably nothing," she replied. "But I'd talk to my brother about it. Don't ask my mother, though, because she'll get mad at me!" She laughed a little.

"Thanks, Alicia," Leann said. We all handed her our portion of the money.

As we walked home, I couldn't help but think. I hoped it was nothing to worry about. After all, Alicia's fortune telling turned out to be untrue ninety-nine percent of the time. Either way, I planned to go ask Ray about it. But not then; I was hungry again.


	7. Aaron in a Dress?

The next Holiday, I woke up late. I heard voices downstairs, and slowly got up to see what was going on.

I saw Mom right away. But to my surprise, Alicia, Rosalind, Cecilia, Dorothy, and Yue were there as well. They were all talking excitedly.

"Are we having a party?" I asked. Then, I noticed that there were sewing kits and fabric everywhere. "Mom, what's going on?"

"We're making new clothes for you and Leann," Mom said. "After all, you're going to need new outfits." Cecilia and Rosalind were the first to come up to me.

"First of all," Cecilia said. "I'd like to apologize for the way Orland has been treating you. I'd like to think I didn't raise him to act like that."

"And I'd like to apologize for my girls' behavior," Rosalind said. "It was absolutely beastly of them to mock you in that way. I've tried to talk some sense into them, but they just won't listen. Cecilia and I thought this might be a good way to make up for how they've been treating you."

"And we all know how to sew," Cecilia added. "So why not? And with all of, us, we'll get the job done faster."

"I sold Mana the fabric," Yue said. "So I thought I could help in some other way, too."

"I'm designing the outfits," Alicia added. "I know enough about style to do so."

"Um," Dorothy said. "I'm…helping Alicia."

"And the three of us are on the sewing team," Mom said.

"You're all so great!" I said, smiling. "And don't worry, Cecilia. I won't hold anything against you. The same goes for you, Rosalind. By the way, where are Leann and Aaron?"

"I actually don't know," Mom said. "Your father's outside. Maybe he's seen them."

I went outside, and sure enough, Dad was dripping with sweat from working in the fields.

"Dad," I said. "Have you seen Aaron and Leann?"

"Yes," he replied. "I think they were headed for the school."

"That's weird," I said. "Thanks, Dad!" I took off as fast as I could for the school.

I took the shortcut to get to school. When I got there, however, I didn't see anything.

"Aaron!" I called. "Leann! Where are you?" I continued to walk around, until I heard some noise come from behind one of the cherry trees. I knew right away what was going on. "Okay, guys, party's over."

I walked behind the tree, and sure enough, Aaron and Leann were making out heatedly. I quickly pulled them away from each other.

"Hey!" Aaron exclaimed, sounding very disappointed.

"You're just jealous that you don't have a boyfriend," Leann muttered.

"Do trees turn you guys on or something?" I asked. I turned to Aaron. "Or do you just want Mom and Dad to kill you?" Leann sighed.

"You're right," she said. "I don't know what came over us."

"It's not that uncommon," Aaron said, looking embarrassed. "I've read about it. Once the morning sickness starts to fade out, the want for sex starts to fade in."

"I didn't know that," Leann said.

_There are a lot of things you don't know, _I thought.

"Why did you come looking for us?" Aaron asked.

"I actually don't know," I replied. "I guess I just wanted to know where you were. And Leann, have you seen what's going on at home yet?"

"No," she replied. "We went on a walk really early this morning. What's happening?"

"Basically every single married woman in town is at our house," I replied. "Except for your mom, of course. They're making new clothes for us."

"How exciting!" Leann exclaimed. "I'm sick of my old clothes, and I'm not fitting into them very well these days, so this is wonderful!"

"Let's go back there, then," I said.

We started back toward the house, and went inside.

"Try this on, Aria!" Yue exclaimed. "I picked out this pattern just for you!"

"Not now, Yue," Mom said. "I forgot to tell you girls something very important."  
"What's that?" I asked.

"Your doctor's appointment is scheduled for today," she replied. "Both of you."

"Really?" Leann asked. "It's really been a month?"

"A little bit longer, actually," Mom said. "I've had to cancel several times because one or both of you were feeling sick or too tired. But now, you seem to be better. Hurry on over there, now."

Once again, I found myself running across town.

"I can't run that fast!" Leann cried.

"Leann," I said exasperatedly. "I probably weigh about twenty pounds more than you right now, and I can still go faster than you. Look, though, we're already there." I opened the door to the clinic.

"Oh," she said, stepping inside. "That wasn't so bad."

_No shit, Sherlock, _I thought.

"Welcome, girls," Ray said, as soon as he saw us. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"We had a checkup scheduled for today," Leann replied.

"With Natalie," I added. Even though Ray was a nice guy, he was still a _guy_.

"Mother isn't here right now," he replied. "She's out gathering some medicinal herbs. If you want, I can see how you're doing."

"All right," Leann said.

"Do you mind if we go in together?" I asked. Ray looked surprised.

"I suppose that's all right," he said. "Come on back to one of the examination rooms when you're ready."

After a few seconds of standing around, Leann and I followed Ray's instructions.

"Before we begin," Ray said. "How have you been eating, Aria?"

"Um," I started to say. That question came as quite a shock. "Weird stuff, I guess. I've been eating a lot, though."

"And Leann?" he asked.

"About the same," she replied. "Actually, that was a lie. Now that the morning sickness has worn off a little, I can't seem to stop!"

"Interesting," he replied. "No offense to you, Aria, but your weight gain seems to be significantly more than Leann's. I suppose we could always weigh you, but just by looking, it doesn't seem necessary."

"Maybe it's because Orland is an elf?" I asked.

"From what I've read," Ray said, obviously in thought. "That wouldn't be a problem." I suddenly remembered Alicia's prediction.

"I also had a question," I said. "The other day, when Alicia told Leann's fortune, she predicted a girl. And when she tried to tell my fortune, she saw male and female!" Ray looked surprised.

"Aria," Ray said. "Would you mind going to get your mother?"

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Because she may know something you don't," he said.

"Okay," I said. I left the examination room, and ran all the way home.

I was able to get Mom away from her sewing, and I practically dragged her over to the clinic.

"Ray," she said, once we got inside. "Is there something wrong?"

"I don't think so," Ray said. "But I'll need to ask you some questions first."

"All right," she said. I noticed that Leann was peeking out from behind the curtain. Mom followed him into a different exam room. I went into the one where Leann was.

"What do you think is wrong?" I asked Leann.

"I don't know," she replied. "Hopefully nothing too terrible."

"_Too _terrible?" I asked.

"We should go listen," she said.

"No!" I replied. "If there's something wrong, I'd rather find out later!"

"Why?" she asked.

However, before I could answer, the curtain opened, and Ray and Mom stepped through. The two of them looked very happy, for some reason.

"Aria," Ray said. "From what your mother has told me, from what I've seen, and, as strange as it sounds, Alicia's prediction, we have reason to believe that you might be expecting twins."

"T-Twins?!" I stammered. "How…likely is this?"

"I'd say more than probable," Ray replied.

"I've never told you this, Aria," Mom said. "But I had a twin brother who died at birth. And of course, you and Aaron are twins."

"Oh, Aria!" Leann exclaimed, giving me a hug. "This is _so _exciting!" I suddenly didn't feel mute anymore.

"Get off me!" I cried.

"Sorry," she said.

"It's okay," I said, sighing. "I just don't know how I'm going to do it."

"We'll help you," Mom said. "You shouldn't worry too much about it."

"I shouldn't?" I asked. "You're not going to be the one caring for two kids!"

"We'll help you," Mom said again. "Thank you, Ray. I'll pay the fee, and the girls can go back home."

"Gladly," I said, as my stomach started churning for the first time that day. I smelled one of the lemon halves in my pocket. I quickly started dragging Leann out the door.

"Thank you, Ray," she said.

I slammed the door, and took a breath. It was almost autumn, and it was starting to get a little chillier.

"What's the matter?" Leann asked. We started to walk.

"I'm just thinking," I replied. "I don't think I'll be a good mother, that's all. And how the hell am I going to handle twins?"

"I think you'll be a great mother," she said. "Any kid would love you. Besides, I'm sure you've got some of Mana in you somewhere."

"I just don't know," I muttered.

Before long, we reached the house. Leann quickly ran inside, and I went after her.

"Leann!" Aaron cried. "Aria! Help me!" I looked up, and saw that he was standing on a chair, wearing a half-finished dress. Alicia, Rosalind, Cecilia, Yue, and Dorothy were standing around him.

"Let him out of that dress!" Leann exclaimed. "It'll ruin his masculinity!" I burst out laughing.

"Dad's going to shit his pants if he comes in and sees that," I stated.

"I'm being used as a mannequin," he muttered. "Why are you two back so soon?"

"Because Aria's having twins!" Leann blurted out.

The room fell silent.

"Um…yeah," I said sheepishly. "Leann, next time, could you maybe _not _tell that to a crowd of people?"

"Why be ashamed, Aria?" Rosalind asked. "It's absolutely wonderful news!" Everyone else started talking excitedly, probably agreeing with her.

"Mana will need to buy more fabric for Aria's clothes," Yue said. "She's going to be huge!"

"That's for sure," Cecilia added. "Rosalind, I remember when you were expecting Sera and Serena. And Mana was even bigger with Aaron and Aria!"

"I knew my prediction would come true!" Alicia cried in delight. "I knew what I saw was right! You must be having a boy and a girl!"

"Congratulations, Aria," Dorothy said quietly. However, she was smiling broadly.

"This is all fantastic," Aaron said. "But could you _please _get me out of this dress?"

"Oh, be quiet, you," Yue said. "Be excited for your sister. And your hem needs straightening." Aaron just stood there and sighed.

"Actually," I said. "Maybe since Leann and I are here now, he can be free to go."

"I just want him out of that thing!" Leann cried. "It's very disturbing to me!"

"Oh, suck it up and laugh," I told her.

Dad and Mom walked through the door, talking. Both of them seemed to be excited, and then they saw Aaron.

"Who put my son in a maternity dress?" Dad asked.

"We're just using him as a mannequin," Cecilia replied. "He's actually about the same size as Aria."

"Thanks a lot," Aaron said, sighing. "Now I'm short _and _fat." I narrowed my eyes.

"Well," I said. "Maybe if I didn't have a twin, there would be a less likely chance of me being so fat right now!"

"I was just kidding!" Aaron cried.

"Okay," Mom said. "It was just a misunderstanding."

"I can't believe this," Dad said to no one in particular. "In this house, there are three people eating for one, one person eating for two, and one person eating for three."

"That's a lot of numbers," Leann said.

The door opened again, but to my surprise, it was Leonel.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Uh…I was here to get my mom," he replied. He turned his attention to Dorothy. "Mom, you were supposed to be at the clinic five minutes ago."

"Oh, goodness!" Dorothy exclaimed. "Thank you, dear. Tell Ray and Natalie I'll be right over."

"Okay," he said. "I will."

"Wait," I said, but he was already out the door.

I followed him out to the front of the house.

"Aria?" he said, the confusion in his voice very apparent.

"How did the chipsqueek thing work?" I asked.

"What?" he asked, sounding even more confused.

"How did the chipsqueek thing work?" I asked again. "You know, the whole excuse for us eating the food?"

"Oh, wow," he said, laughing. "Sorry. I had almost completely forgotten about that. Don't worry, though. He totally bought it. And I don't easily crack under pressure. Unless of course Orland is twisting my arm for my lunch."

"He really does that?" I asked. "Why doesn't he bring his own damn lunch?"

"Well," he said. "Not so much anymore, now that he's got a girl on each arm."

"I see," I said. "Well, I owe you one. So, next time he tries to do that, tell him you know a pregnant teenager with volatile hormones who's good with a sword."

"You don't have to do that," he said. "But thanks anyway. I'd better be off. Natalie and Ray are waiting." He started to walk away again.

"Oh, wait!" I called. He turned around.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I'm having twins," I said. "Just thought I'd say it. Word's going to get out anyway." For a second, he looked shocked.

"Congrats," he said finally.

"Thanks," I said. And just like that, he was off.

**Not a big surprise, eh? That's why I didn't put it in the title of this chapter. I thought the idea of Aaron in a dress would be enough to reel you lovelies in. Also, just as another note, my younger sister wanted me to use the word "redonkulous" in the title of this chapter, but never mind.**


	8. Poor Leonel

That Monday, I found school more boring than usual. And for some reason, my stomach was acting up again. Of course, I had to bring extra lemons. During Mom's class, however, things got rough again.

"Orland," Mom said, pointing to him. "How do you make a charm?"

"I can't answer that question right now," he whined. "You see, I'm allergic to lemons." I heard Sera and Serena giggle.

"Well," Mom said. "We're doing a review right now. A review from what you learned when you were _seven_." Orland looked dumbfounded. "And if I remember correctly, your medical information says you have no allergies. Now answer the question."

_Go Mom! _I thought, smiling broadly.

"Uh…" Orland started to say.

"Oh, look at the time," Mom said. "Class dismissed. Orland, I need to speak with you." Orland groaned as everyone got up to leave.

When I was finally outside, I was greeted by Aaron and Leann.

"Isn't Mom the best?" Aaron said.

"My mother would never do that for me!" Leann exclaimed.

"Mom _is _the best," I said. "And Leann, your mom kicked you out, so I can agree with you as well."

Suddenly, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was Cammy, standing alone but looking very happy. Soon enough, I saw a familiar person walk up to her and hug her. It was Roy. They walked away laughing, just like we used to. But that sort of thing was long gone.

"Aria?" Aaron asked. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," I replied, trying to hold back tears.

"Come on, Aria," Leann said. "You can tell us."

"C-Cammy," I whispered, tears running down my face. "She's…going out with Roy." I broke down. Both Aaron and Leann hugged me.

"It's okay," Leann said. "I know it must be really hard for you…I can't even imagine, so I won't say I can. But I'm really sorry, and I know everything's going to turn out all right in the end."

I stopped crying a little, and realized right then what Aaron saw in Leann. Even though she wasn't exactly smart, she wasn't stupid. She had a caring heart, as well, and she knew how to comfort people.

"You're going to be a great mom," I said.

"Really?" Leann asked. "You really think so?"

"Yes," I replied.

"What's going on?" a new voice asked. I turned around, and saw that it was Leonel.

"Aria's just a little sad," Leann said.

"Oh," he said. "I'm…sorry to hear that."

"Everything's just about resolved now, though," Aaron said.

"Hey!" I heard Orland shout. "Leonel! I think you owe me something!"

"I think you've got the wrong guy," Leonel said, facing Orland. He turned back to face us.

"What other girly wimp is there in town?" Orland asked, walking toward us. "And what other girly wimp would have taken my money?"

"I didn't take your money," Leonel said angrily. "Now leave me alone."

"You're a liar," Orland said.

"Why don't you just listen to what he says?" I said to Orland. "He obviously didn't take your money, so go off and screw yourself!"

"Stay out of this, Aria," Leonel said.

"Trying to be manly?" Orland asked. "Well…" He pushed Leonel down into one of the garden plots. "…Real men aren't afraid to get dirty."

It had been raining while we were in school, and the ground was muddy. Poor Leonel was face down.

"You bastard!" Leann cried.

"You caught him completely off-guard!" Aaron shouted.

"Doesn't matter," Orland replied. Leonel rolled over, and spit out some mud. I reached down to offer him my hand, but his eyes just looked sad and embarrassed. He slowly got up, and walked back toward his house.

"Poor guy," Leann said, once Orland had walked away.

"Poor guy?" I asked in shock. "That's all you have to say?"

"Jeez, Aria," Aaron said. "Since when do you care about Leonel?"

"I don't," I snapped. "Not in the way you're implying, anyway. And you're missing the point. He was just pushed into a muddy garden plot in front of a bunch of girls. Think about how he must be feeling! And I think I made it worse for him by trying to help him."

"I doubt that," Leann said.

"I'm going to go talk to him," I said. "Later, after I take a nap."

We took the long way home, or the way through town. When we crossed in front of the general store, I decided it might be nice to pay a visit to Grandpa Douglas.

"Let's go see Grandpa Douglas," I said. "I've got a craving for chocolate, but we're out of rice."

"I'd chocolate, too," Leann said, giving Aaron a hug. "But like Aria said, we're all out."

"You've forgotten something," Aaron said.

"What's that?" Leann asked.

"I'm all out of money," he replied.

"I'm not," I said. "Come on, let's go."

We stepped inside the shop. It had the smell of spices, fresh fruits and vegetables, and everything else imaginable.

"Howdy!" Grandpa Douglas exclaimed. "How are my two grandkids and great-grandkids?"

"Hungry," I replied.

"Broke," Aaron added.

"What about me?" Leann asked.

"Of course," Grandpa Douglas said. "Well, I've got to stay in business somehow, but I guess I could make an exception. What'll it be?"

"Chocolate!" Leann and I exclaimed.

"And…do you have any grapes?" Aaron asked.

"'Course I do," Grandpa Douglas replied. "Fresh from Messhina Valley. And I'll get the chocolate."

"Thanks," I said as he went into the back room.

As soon as I was sure Grandpa Douglas was out of earshot, the three of us started to whisper.

"I can't believe it," Aaron said. "He didn't beat us into the ground!"

"I think he's desensitized to the fact that people need to grow up sometime," I said. "Remember, he nearly killed Dad for wanting to marry Mom! But once they found out about us, he kind of stopped all that."

Grandpa Douglas walked proudly back into the front room, two huge bars of chocolate and some grapes in his giant hands.

"Here you go," he said, setting the items on the counter. "Free of charge."  
"Thank you so much," I said, smiling. I took a chocolate bar off the counter. Leann took the other, and Aaron took the grapes.

"Hey, Aaron!" he said. "How are the muscles doing?"

"Not nearly as well as yours," he replied.

"Ah, yes," Grandpa Douglas said. "You take after your father. Not that it's a bad thing. He once took out an orc twice his size. Did I ever tell you that story?"

"Yes, Grandpa Douglas," I said. "You've told that story about fifty million times."

"I guess I have," he said, scratching his head.

"Well," Leann said. "I guess we'll be off. Thank you so much for the food, Douglas."

"You're welcome," he said. "I'll see you three around."

We left the store, and started back toward the house. For some reason, though, I couldn't stop thinking of Leonel. I decided to skip the nap and go to Mayor Byron's house.

"You guys keep going," I said. "I'm going to Mayor Byron's house."

"All right," Aaron and Leann said. They continued to walk home, as I turned around and walked in the other direction.

The walk was long, since Mayor Byron's house was all the way across town. When I got there, I felt really tired, and despite the chilly weather, very hot. I opened the door, and went inside.

Mayor Byron was sitting at his desk, writing something. He looked up, and saw me.

"Hello, Aria," he said. "Have you come to talk to Barrett?"

"No, sir," I replied. "I've…actually come to see Leonel."

"Leonel?" he asked. "Well, I'm afraid he hasn't come out of his room at all since he got home from school."

"Do you think he'd come out if you said there was someone here to see him?" I asked.

"I would imagine so," he replied. He slowly got up from his desk, and walked over to the stairs. He cleared his throat. "Leonel! There's someone here to see you!"

I heard someone slowly come down the stairs. To my surprise, Leonel was completely mud-free. Even more surprising was when he saw me, he smiled.

"Hi, Aria," he said. "Did you need something?"

"Can we step outside?" I asked. After all, he probably didn't want his grandfather to know what had happened, and I wasn't about to tell him.

"Uh…sure," he said.

I walked outside, and Leonel closed the door behind us.

"Look," I said. "I'm really sorry about what happened today, and I just wanted to make sure you were all right, and that I didn't embarrass you."

"I'm sorry, too," he said. "You were trying to help me, and I didn't let you." He paused. "Don't worry about it. Orland was the one that embarrassed me, not you."

"Well," I said. "Next time he tries to pull that kind of crap, I'm going to kick his ass, okay?"

"Don't," he said. "Think of your babies."

"I was just kidding," I said with a wave of my hand. "I wouldn't do something that stupid."

There was a brief pause.

"I guess I'll see you around?" he said, although it sounded more like a question.

"Sure," I said.

"All right," he said. He turned around, and went inside.

As I turned around to walk back home, Aaron and Leann jumped out at me. I just about screamed.

"What the hell?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.

"Sorry, Aria," Leann said. "That was cruel of us."

"What were you talking about?" Aaron asked, sounding very excited.

"What were we talking about?" I repeated, feeling completely confused. Suddenly, I realized what was going on. "Uh-uh. No way. You think I'm so desperate, that I would go for _Leonel_? I don't think so!"

"We just want you to be happy," Aaron said.

"Ha!" I exclaimed. "I'm perfectly happy! I weigh about half a ton and have two babies growing inside of me! And their biological father is a complete asshole! I'm just _wonderful_!"

"Proving that you need a boyfriend," Leann said.

I was starting to get really angry. After all, who were they to pry in on my life? They didn't know anything.

"Proving nothing," I said. I walked away quickly, willing myself not to cry.

**Aw, poor Aria! I tried not to make this like a whiny teen pregnancy story, but Aria's just too emotional. Of course, I've tried to add in elements of humor. And I realize Orland is a little OOC. But who knows, he could have changed over the years. Good news, though! I've finally decided where this story is going! That's always nice.  
**

**And I would like some more reviews this time around! HINT FREAKING HINT! Seriously. As much as the two reviews I got are appreciated, give me more!**

**I guess I'm a little bit spoiled from my last story on here. Excuse my psychotic behavior.**


	9. Jezebel And Other Names

As weeks wore on, I got fatter and fatter, making me feel miserable. The maternity clothes, as stylish as they were, didn't help much. Leann was finally showing, and that made me feel a little better. One day, when I was at about four months, Barrett gave us a study hall. It was dead quiet, until something happened.

I felt something move in my abdomen, and stood up.

"Holy _crap_!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. Everyone turned to look at me.

"Is there something wrong, Aria?" Barrett asked with a heavy sigh.

"I don't know," I replied. "There's something…_moving_!"

"Uh…Aria," Leann said. "I think that was just one of your babies kicking. I felt something similar the other day."

"You did?" Aaron asked. "Why didn't you tell me?" Orland looked up from one of his many books.

"Will you be quiet?" he demanded. "I'm trying to get some work done."

"I think Orland is probably right," Barrett said. "Let's all get back to work. Class ends in five minutes, so let's make the best of our time."

Since Barrett's and Mom's classes switched during the week sometimes, Barrett's class was at the end of that particular day. Luckily for the entire class, he had just announced that there were only five minutes left of class. I tried to work, but whichever baby was moving around wouldn't stop, so it was very distracting. Luckily, the five minutes went by very quickly, and Barrett let us out.

I took a little longer to get my books, and was surprised to see what awaited me outside.

"Why can't you just tell me about these things?" Aaron was asking. "The baby is mine, too!"

"I don't have to tell you everything!" Leann protested.

"Yeah, actually," Aaron said.

"In that case," Leann said, turning away from him with her arms crossed. "I still have a little bit of morning sickness, but not too often. I also weigh close to one-hundred and seventy pounds, and I feel like eating too much will make me even fatter!"

"You _know _what I mean, Leann!" he shouted.

"You're a jerk!" Leann cried, her eyes filling with tears. "All you care about is being mister masculine! You don't even care about me anymore, just because I'm fat! You don't care about Lily, either!"

"Well!" Aaron yelled. "Excu…" His voice trailed off, and when he spoke, it got quiet again. "Lily?"

"Th-That's what I've been calling our baby girl, Aaron," Leann said, obviously trying to avoid breaking down. "Lillian, but I like…Lily…" She started sobbing, and Aaron's face fell.

"Oh, Leann," he said. "I'm so sorry for getting mad like that." He brought her into a gentle hug, and kissed her softly on her forehead. "I really like that name." Leann somehow managed to stop crying a little.

"You…do?" she asked.

"I really do," he said.

"Oh, Aaron!" she exclaimed. "It makes me feel so much better to hear you say that!"

"Wow," I said, finally speaking up. "I have _never _seen anything like that happen between the two of you."

"All couples fight," Aaron said.

"And I never want something like that to happen again!" Leann cried.

"Come on," I said. "Let's go home."

We started to turn around, but I heard someone call my name.

"Hey, Aria!" Leonel called.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Um…this is kind of embarrassing," he said. "But I'm having some trouble making something with the pharmacy."

"Do you want me to do your assignment?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. From what I'd heard, it wasn't like Leonel to cheat.

"Of course not," he said. "Dad would kill me. But if you wouldn't mind giving me a few pointers on what to do, that would be nice."

"Sure," I said. "Let's go to the workshop, and I'll see what I can do."

We walked back inside the school, and down the long hallway to the workshop. Leonel tried to make conversation.

"So," he said. "What's going on with Leann and your brother?"

"It's all resolved now," I replied.

"But what happened?" he asked.

"I don't like gossip," I said.

"No," he said, sounding surprised. "It's not like that at all! I was just concerned. And besides, who would I have to spread gossip to?" He opened the door, and held it so I could walk through.

"Thanks," I said. "And I guess you have a point about the gossip. Anyway, Aaron and Leann got into a fight over Leann not telling Aaron about their baby's first kick or something. And then Leann said that she had been calling the baby Lily, and everything was fine." We walked over to the pharmacy. "So, what do you need help with?"

"To tell the truth," Leonel said. "I've never been able to master a recovery potion. Ever since I started school, whenever I'd drink one that I made, I would get an upset stomach."

"Maybe you're not using the right ingredients," I said. "Why don't you try and make one, and I'll watch. I won't tell you anything unless you've made a mistake."

"Okay," Leonel said, sounding a bit unsure of himself. I saw him take a medicinal herb from a jar, and then start to smash it with a mortar and pestle. Once that was completely ground up, he started to heat some water in an empty bottle. He sprinkled some of the ground-up medicinal herb into the bottle, and then started to grind up some green grass. When that was finished, he dumped all of the green grass into the bottle. He was doing great, until I saw him pick up a piece of yellow grass.

"Stop!" I cried, and grabbed his hand. "_That's_ what you're doing wrong."

"What?" he asked.

"Are you completely unaware of the fact that you just tried to put yellow grass in?" I asked. He shook his head. "It's a little-known fact, but if you mix yellow grass, green grass, and medicinal herbs together in hot water, they produce a low amount of poison?"

"I guess not," he said.

"It's not enough to kill you," I said. "But it's definitely enough to give you a bad stomachache. Let the water boil for a little while, and put the yellow grass away."

"All right," he said. He sat down on the floor against the pharmacy counter and sighed. "I can't believe that I was making such a stupid mistake all those years." I sat down next to him.

"Ha," I said. "I'm the queen of stupid mistakes. I've got two of them inside of me."

"If Orland's their father," Leonel said. "They probably won't be stupid."

"But they might be stupid in the way of people's feelings," I said.

"Not if you're their mother," he said.

"That's nice of you to say," I said. "But I'm mean as a snake and like to kill monsters."

"But they would kill you if you didn't kill them!" he exclaimed.

"Let's talk about something else," I said.

"Okay," Leonel said. "Leann and Aaron are calling their baby Lily. How do they know it's a girl?"

"Alicia," I replied.

"But she predicted that _I _would be a girl!" he said with a laugh.

"She might be wrong," I said. "But I think it's possible. After all, Leann is _so _freaking prissy, and Aaron can barely lift a hammer anymore."

"That was mean," Leonel said, although he was smiling.

"I know," I replied.

"Have…_you_ thought of any names?" he asked.

"Not really," I replied. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

"But they're due in what, six months?" he asked in shock.

"Actually," I said. "It's about five. Which gives me about five months to think of names."

"Well, why not try some out just for fun?" he asked.

"Fine," I said. "I'll succumb to peer pressure. Why don't you throw some out, and I'll say yes or no."

"You're really making me do all the thinking today," he muttered. "Okay, how about Jezebel?"

"More like 'what the hell'," I replied.

"I have a feeling that this isn't going to be fun for very long," he said. "You think of one. And be serious."

"Ha," I said. "As if you were being serious with 'Jezebel'."

"You're right," he said. "I wasn't. But anyway, I'll see if I can give you some inspiration."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Well," he said. "When I was a kid, I hated my name, and I wanted a better one."

"How does that inspire me?" I asked.

"Did _you _ever hate your name?" he asked. I thought for a second.

"Yeah, actually," I replied. "I thought my name was too short. I liked Arianna better than Aria. But now that I think about it, they sound really similar."

"I think Arianna's a pretty name," Leonel said, shrugging. "I hope you'd be giving that name to the girl twin."

"That would be really sad if I gave that name to the boy," I said. "Speaking of which, what would be a good name for a boy?"

"I don't know," Leonel said.

"Oh, you're so much help all of a sudden!" I exclaimed with false enthusiasm.

"Do you want me to just throw a name out there or something?" he asked.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Okay," he said. "Jack?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Arianna and Jack. Makes it sound like the boy's name wasn't thought out. You said earlier that you didn't like your name as a kid. What name did you want?"

"It's a little embarrassing," he said.

"Come on," I said. "Tell me!"

"All right," he said. "When I was five, I secretly wished my name was…Tristan."

"How is that embarrassing?" I asked. "That's a pretty cool name. I actually like that! Mind if I steal it?"

"All right," he said. "Just as long as you don't tell people where you got it."

"Tristan and Arianna," I said.

I suddenly felt that strange movement in my abdomen again. The kicking. I gasped.

"What is it?" Leonel asked. "Are you…okay?"  
"I think they're protesting to their working titles," I said, catching my breath.

"I don't think so," he said. "Do you…mind if I feel? Mom's told me a lot about that kind of thing, but we're all about the same age, so-"

"Go ahead," I said. "At this point, I really don't care."

He reluctantly reached out his hand, and lowered it onto my stomach.

"I can feel it!" he exclaimed.

"I think they either like you or hate you," I said with a laugh.

"Wow," he said. "That was weird."

"Well," I said. "You're not the one feeling it from inside."

"I guess you have a point," he said.

"I should probably get going," I said. "My parents are probably wondering where I am right now."

"Oh, sure," he said. "Sorry I kept you so long."

"No, it's okay," I replied. "That was actually kind of fun." I got up. "I think it's about time to take that recovery potion off the fire."

"Oh, thanks," he said. "I almost forgot about that."

"You're welcome," I said. "And thanks for the name ideas."

I practically ran down the hallway, and out the door of the school. I felt great about helping Leonel with schoolwork, but I felt even greater about having names for the twins. In my head, I repeated the names over and over again as I slowed down. Tristan and Arianna. Tristan and Arianna.

It was then that I realized something: I actually cared. Being nasty about it wasn't going to get me anywhere.

_It must be the names, _I thought. _But it doesn't matter anymore…_

"I love them," I said aloud. "I love you, babies."

**It seems our lovely little Aria is growing up a bit! Tell me what you think of the names! I thought really hard about them, trying to make them seem fantasy-ish. I have one more completed chapter on my Word document of doom, so I either have to get cracking, or there might not be a post for a while. But who knows?**


	10. An Interesting Night, a Day at the Manor

One night, I woke up to an odd sound outside my room. After realizing it was Leann crying, I got out of bed. That task was getting harder as days went on, since Ray said I wasn't allowed to sleep in my normal way anymore. He said it was because I might suffocate the babies that way.

"Leann?" I asked groggily. "Is that you out there?" The crying sound stopped a little.

"Do you want to wake up your parents?" she asked.

"Well," I said, opening the door. "You're doing a fine job of that. What's wrong?" In the darkness, I could see her a little. She looked pitiful, as she usually did when she cried.

"I'm afraid," she said.

"Of _what_?" I asked, getting impatient. After all, I wanted to go back to sleep.

"I'm afraid Aaron is going to leave me," she replied. After that sentence, she went back to crying.

"No offense," I said. "But that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life."

"I know you're thinking it too!" Leann sobbed. "The way he looks at me, I can tell!"

"Um, Leann?" I said. "You're calling my brother an Orland-esque dirtbag, do you realize that?" She didn't hear me, though, over her tears.

"He hates me!" she cried.

"_Be quiet_!" I hissed, actually fearful that I would wake up Mom and Dad. "Look, if it's really bothering you that much, we can go downstairs, wake him up, and talk to him."

"Don't you think that would just make him angry?" she asked.

"No," I replied.

"Fine," Leann said, wiping her eyes. "Let's go."

We tiptoed down the stairs. Aaron was sleeping soundly, sprawled out on the floor in his bed of blankets.

"Aaron," Leann whispered, shaking him. "Wake up." He snored, and rolled over. Since Leann obviously didn't know how to wake him up, I stepped in.

"Aaron," I said a little louder. I poked him in the ribs, since that had worked for as long as I could remember. He shot up.

"I didn't do it, Leann!" he shouted, still under the impression that he was dreaming.

"You didn't do _what_?" Leann asked.

"Don't listen to him," I said. "He talks in his sleep all the time." Aaron seemed to regain consciousness.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Why did you wake me up?"

"Leann has something to talk to you about," I said. He stretched, and turned to Leann.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"Aaron," she said. "You're not going to…leave me, are you?" She started to cry again, and Aaron looked confused, as though he wasn't awake enough to talk about such important matters.

"Why do you think I would leave you?" he asked. He reached his hand out to caress her tearstained face.

"I can tell from the way you look at me," she replied. Aaron laughed, and ran his other hand through his messy hair.

"Leann," he said. "When I look at you, I don't think about leaving you. I think about how much I love you, and how much I would hate for something to happen to you or Lily. When I look at you, I only think about staying with you…forever." Leann's eyes suddenly got very wide.

"Are you…proposing?" she asked.

"I guess I am," he replied with a laugh.

"Wait," I said. "I thought you had to be eighteen to get married in Alvarna unless you had your parents' permission!"

"We could have a long engagement," Leann said. "Oh, Aaron, this is so romantic!" She kissed him, the excitement obviously showing. He pulled her closer, and the making out started.

"Uh, guys," I said. They didn't pay any attention. "Guys! Just because you're engaged doesn't mean you can go and do it whenever you want! There are still boundaries." They stopped, and looked up at me.

"Shut up, Aria," Aaron said. He went back to making out with Leann.

"You guys are sick," I said. For some reason, though, I smiled. It must've been because I was happy for my brother. "Well, have fun. I'm looking forward to the part where Mom and Dad kill you." With those words, I went back upstairs.

As I lay in bed, I felt the twins kicking like crazy, which didn't help me sleep at all. But when I eventually drifted off, I slept soundly.

When I woke up, the sun was streaming through my window. I also heard a hammering noise coming from the back of the house. I wondered if Leann and Aaron had gotten caught, so I went immediately downstairs. Mom, Aaron, and Leann were sitting at the table, talking and looking very happy.

"I'm glad you thought through this," Mom was saying. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Aaron said.

"When can we get married?" Leann asked excitedly.

"Well," Mom said, obviously in deep thought. "I believe that a couple should be engaged for at least six months before marriage. Kyle also has to help me decide. And Leann, we'll also have to take that up with your parents." Leann frowned.

"They'll never let me," she muttered.

"And that's their decision if they don't," Mom said. "But you won't know until you ask them."

"But I don't want to see them ever again!" Leann cried. "I like you better, Mana!"

"I'll go with you if you want," Mom said. "If you need us to, we all will. But you and Aaron are going to have to ask permission."

"Me?" Aaron asked.

"Of course," Mom said. "After all, it _is _traditional for the man to ask the woman's father for his daughter's hand in marriage. Now, I'm going to see if Aria's awake-"

"Here, Mom," I said. They all turned around.

"Oh, I didn't hear you come down!" Mom exclaimed. "So, I guess you heard all about what's going on?"

"Yeah," I replied. "By the way, what's that hammering noise?"

"Your father and grandfather are putting a new addition on the house," she replied. "After all, we're going to need somewhere for all three babies, and Aaron and Leann will need their own room after they get married."

"Okay," I said. "So are we going to de Sainte-Coquille Manor?"

"When your father bathes," Mom said, laughing. "I imagine working on a house is much harder work than sowing crops. I'll go let him know. You should probably get dressed, Aria."

"All right," I said.

I went back upstairs, and started to change out of my nightgown. As I looked down to take one of my shirts out of my drawer, I noticed something other than my weight. My stomach was starting to get incredibly round. I just hadn't taken the time to look at myself in a while. And wow, was I busty! I had been pretty flat-chested even after I hit puberty, so it was really weird. Without even getting dressed, I went over to the mirror, just to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me. They weren't.

I pulled on my clothes, and stared at myself in the mirror for a while. I looked more feminine, maybe even prettier. I didn't look quite so fat anymore, and the belly seemed to…add something. It made everything seem more real.

"Aria!" I heard Aaron call from downstairs. I quickly snapped out of it.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"I guess!" I replied loudly, although I was already heading down the stairs.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I noticed that everyone looked nicer than they usually did, except for Leann. She always looked nice. But Dad and Aaron had perfectly combed hair. They all seemed to be waiting for me.

"Well," Dad said. "Let's go."

"Go where?" I asked.

"To the manor," Aaron said. "Did you already forget?"

"Oh, yeah," I said. "Sorry."

We walked over to the manor. Aaron was holding Leann's hand, and they both looked terrified. We walked past the fountain, which had been turned off due to the colder weather, and finally got to our destination. Aaron knocked on the huge double doors, and we waited.

Cecilia's face peeked out as she opened the door.

"Come in," she said. The five of us stepped inside.

Whenever I got a chance to be inside de Sainte-Coquille Manor, I always found myself in awe. The place was huge. I wondered how Leann could have lived in a place like that, and not have turned out to be a total brat.

"Is there any particular reason for visiting?" Cecilia asked. I noticed she was looking around somewhat nervously.

"Yes," Mom replied. "Aaron? Leann?"

"We want to get married," Aaron said, squeezing Leann's hand. "But we need Max and Julia's permission."

"And I think it's time I face them," Leann said.

"All right," Cecilia said. "They're in the dining hall right now. I'll tell them they have visitors." She went into the dining hall.

Seconds later, Herman, Max, Julia, and Cecilia emerged. Max and Julia looked very happy, but Herman didn't look it at all.

"I'll leave you to talk with Leann," Cecilia said to them. She went into the dining hall, probably to clean up after them.

"So," Herman said. "You've decided to come back. Explain yourself, Leann."

"Herman," Julia said timidly. "Would you please leave us alone with our daughter?" Herman muttered something under his breath, but started up the stairs to his bedroom.

We watched as he went into his room. Suddenly, Max and Julia went over to Leann and hugged her.

"Mom?" Leann asked. "Dad? What's going on?"

"We've missed you!" Julia cried. I could tell she was in tears.

"I didn't know you still cared about me," Leann said, obviously very confused but very emotional.

"We didn't want to leave you by yourself," Max said. "We never would have done such a terrible thing to you. It's my father's doing."

"Grandfather?" Leann asked. "Why would he want to get rid of me?"

"All he cares about is family honor," Max replied. "And of course, food."

"To him," Julia continued. "You dishonored the de Sainte-Coquille family. But you'd never bring us any shame." Leann started to cry, and Max and Julia hugged her even tighter.

"I thought you were too ashamed of me," Leann whimpered.

"We had to say that," Julia said. "Herman was standing right there. We would never stop loving you."

They let Leann cry for a little while until she stopped.

"Cecilia said you had some business to discuss with us," Julia said. "Is there something you need?"

"Yes," Aaron said, answering for Leann. He looked really grown up with his hair combed. "Leann and I would like to get married, but we need your permission." For a second, both Max and Julia looked shocked.

"Have you seriously thought through this?" Max asked.

"We have," Leann replied, nodding. "Please, Mom and Dad, I'm begging you!"

"I have to say I'm a bit reluctant," Julia said. "But I don't think any more harm can possibly be done. Max?"

"I agree with Julia," Max said. "Leann, I give you permission to get married to Aaron. And Aaron, I know this sounds…a little cliché, but don't do anything to hurt my daughter."

"I won't," Aaron said. He brought Leann into a hug. "That's a promise."

"All right," Max said, smiling. It seemed as though that little warning about hurting Leann was just a precautionary measure.

"It was nice to see you," Julia said. "I hope to see our grandbaby when he or she's born."

"According to Alicia," Leann said. "We're having a little girl."

"Congratulations," Max said. "Make sure to take good care of her."

"_Max_!" Herman's voice boomed from upstairs.

"You should probably go," Julia said. Max and Julia brought their daughter into a hug for what seemed like forever to me.

We hurried out the door, but I saw Leann looking very sad.

"What's wrong?" Aaron asked her. "Aren't you…excited?"

"Yes," Leann said. "But…I just wish they hadn't told me how much they loved me still. Then, I wouldn't miss them so much." She started to cry again. Aaron stopped dead in his tracks, and went to comfort her.

"You all can go ahead," he said to us.

Mom, Dad, and I continued to walk, but we all seemed to be lost in our own thoughts. I realized then how lucky I was to be able to live with my parents. It was hard enough for me to bear only having Mom when Aaron and I were seven, but not having either of them would have been rough. I kept thinking.

_Maybe that's why she's been crying so much, _I thought. _Maybe it's not how she feels about Aaron, or herself, or her situation. Maybe she just misses her parents._

As we reached the house, I went right up to my room, and took a look at myself again. I quickly turned away, though, because I felt so bad.

"We both need something," I said aloud. "She needs her family back, and I…" I stopped, since I didn't know what to say. Maybe it was because there was so much I needed.

I decided to sleep on it, in the hopes of getting an idea.


	11. Wedding Roles

Leann quickly got over her homesickness, and soon after, became obsessed with planning her wedding. It got really annoying really fast, and after two weeks, "wedding" was my least favorite word.

"Aria," she said one day as I was leaving the house. I turned at the sound of my name to see her sitting by herself at the table. "Where are you going?"

"I was...going outside to help Dad," I replied. "Do you need something?"

"I wanted your help," she replied. I noticed she had a book in her hand. "Come, sit by me."

"Sure," I said. I didn't exactly know what she was doing, but I sat down at a chair next to her anyway.

To my dismay, the book she was looking at was a magazine. A _bridal _magazine.

"What do you think?" she asked. "Mom ordered it for me from the capital. They have the most beautiful wedding dresses there!"

"Uh…I don't know," I replied. I started to slowly get up. "Why don't you have Aaron help you with this? I'm sure he'd be thrilled to-"

"No," Leann said. She grabbed my arm. "I really want _you _to help me. And besides, Aaron is a guy!"

"Trust me," I said. "You don't want me to help you pick out your wedding dress."

"Aria, this is serious," she said, looking a little hurt. "It's not just _my_ dress I want help with. It's yours, too."

"What?" I asked. "Why would I need a dress?"

"I want you to be my maid of honor," she replied. "Usually, the maid of honor is-"

"I _know _what the maid of honor is," I interrupted. "But why me?"

"Well," she said. "Ever since this whole thing happened, you've been one of the few people I could talk to. And your family took me in. I really appreciate that, and I can't wait for you to be my sister-in-law. That's why."

The more I thought about that statement, the more I realized it was true. Leann was so pure of heart that she saw through all of my bitterness and anger, and in a way, I did kind of help her through some of her troubles. I remembered back to that night where she didn't think Aaron loved her, and I said she should talk to him. That night where he proposed to her. That wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been there.

"Sorry for reacting like that, Leann," I said. "I'll be your maid of honor."

"Thank you," she said.

"Have you asked Aaron about this?" I asked.

"No," she replied. "But he should be fine with it. He hasn't even asked anyone to be his best man yet! The more I think about it, he probably won't have anyone."

"Yeah," I said. "The very idea would make Orland sick, and I bet Roy is still too mad at me to even think about talking to Aaron. And Leonel…"

My voice trailed off. The first two statements were true, but I couldn't think of any reason why Leonel wouldn't be Aaron's best man.

"What is it?" Leann asked.

"I'll be right back," I said. "I promise."

I ran as fast as I could across town to Mayor Byron's office. Tristan and Arianna had been inactive for a while, but they started kicking in protest as soon as I started running. I was out of breath when I got to my destination, but luckily, Leonel was sitting on the front step.

"Aria!" he exclaimed, getting up. "What's going on?"

"I need to ask you a favor," I said. I took a deep breath. "Would you be my brother's best man for his wedding?"

"What?" he asked. "I mean, I heard you, but are you serious?"

"I'm serious," I said. "I haven't asked him, but I'm sure he'd like to have a best man, and I think you'd be great."

"Does he even like me?" he asked.

"Well, he doesn't know you that well," I replied. "But I'm sure if you got to know each other, he'd be fine."

"For now," he said. "I'll do it. But if he says no, then I'm out."

"All right!" I exclaimed. "I'm not going to ask him yet, though. I just ran all the way over here, and he's back at home."

"You must be tired," he said. "Do you…want to sit down?"

"Sure," I said. "It's kind of cold, though."

"Maybe because you're not wearing a coat," he said with a laugh.

"I'm fine," I said, with a wave of my hand.

"Okay, then," he said. We both sat down.

I felt the kicking start back up again.

"Damn," I muttered. "These kids really like to move around."

"Maybe they just like to annoy you," Leonel said.

"I thought that kids aren't supposed to be annoying until they're born," I said.

"They must be a lot like you, then," he said.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "I'm not _that _annoying, am I?"

"I'm not in a position to answer that question," he said. "Although you don't have a sword right now, I imagine you're pretty strong."

"Why is everyone scared of me?" I asked.

"Because you and Aaron killed Fiersome," Leonel replied.

"It was mostly me," I said.

"Exactly," Leonel replied. "Speaking of which, do you think the twins are going to be Earthmate descendants too?"

"I don't know," I replied. "If I'm one, then they probably will be too. Not that I'm going to let them run off when they're seven and kill ancient dragons."

"Probably a good idea," Leonel said. "Otherwise my Grandpa and Dad will probably team up and start parenting classes."

"Ha," I said. "As if they'd actually be able to agree on something."

"Good point," he said. "They're getting better, though."

"Are you going to be mayor someday?" I asked.

"I'd have to be elected," he said. "And nobody would vote for me. And I don't think I could work in the clinic like Mom."

"So," I said. "What _do _you want to do?"

"I'd like to be a teacher," he said. "Although teachers don't make a lot, and I'd need money to support a family." He suddenly blushed.

"Why are you blushing?" I asked. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to have a family."

"Never mind," he said. He changed the subject. "Anyway, the main reason I want to be a teacher is so I can boss your kids around!"

"Sure," I said sarcastically.

The sun was starting to set.

"Shit," I muttered. "I've got to go back to Leann. She's probably really mad. Sorry I couldn't talk longer!" I got up, and started running back toward the house before Leonel could say anything.

I got home, and found myself out of breath once again. When I opened the door, Leann was still sitting at the table, but looking really pissed.

"Well, well," she said angrily. "If it isn't Aria."

"I lost track of time," I said.

"You said you'd be right back!" Leann shouted.

"Relax," I said. "I found Aaron a best man. And I'm back now, so what's there to get mad about?" Leann sighed.

"I guess you're right," she said. "You can help me with the dresses to make up for being late."

"Fine," I said.

We spent the rest of the evening looking at dresses, despite my disinterest. I let my mind wander, though. Who would Leonel want to have a family with? I tried to let it go, since it was his business, but I was one of those curious types. There was no way he'd like Sera or Serena, and Cammy and Leann were taken, so that left…me.

_No_, I thought. _That's stupid. I'm his only friend! Maybe he likes someone who doesn't even live here. Or maybe he's just dreaming._

**Okay, that one was a shorty, and I'm sorry to say that the next one will also be short, and the next after that will be even shorter. I'm sorry to disappoint, but it's just the way everything played out. But I promise they will be very drama-filled! And I just finished one today, where...Leonel has a terrible secret! *Gasp!* But that won't be for a little while.**

**And I'd like to apologize to Katniss212 for making Aria the maid of honor instead of her.  
**


	12. Cammy the Cruel

When Leann and I were almost six months along, sitting on the ground outside school was no longer an acceptable hangout. So, Aaron, Leann, and I often found ourselves sitting on the benches at de Sainte-Coquille Park. Leonel sometimes joined us, if it was official wedding business, or even when he just felt like it. Even though it was freezing out, we always brought our heaviest coats and bought hot chocolates, just so we could have somewhere to get away from the adults.

"I came up with a name for you guys," I said one day.

"We already have a name," Aaron said. "It's Lily, remember?"

"Of course I remember, dumbass," I said. "And I didn't mean for the baby."

"I know what she means," Leann said. "When famous people get married or start dating, other people give the couple a name."

"I guess you could think of it that way," I said. "Anyway, it's Leaaron."

"Oh!" Leann exclaimed. "That's adorable!"

"Why can't my name be first?" Aaron asked.

"Quit your whining," Leann said. Then, she kissed him.

"Wow," he said.

I groaned.

"When is Leonel getting here?" I asked.

"Why do you ask, Aria?" Aaron said, laughing. "You want someone to make out with, too?"

"No," I replied. "I'd rather have someone to hang out with someone that's _not _from a cliché romance novel."

"We're not cliché in any way!" Leann protested. "How many romance novels have you read where the two lovers are sixteen and one of them is pregnant?"

"You really don't read, do you?" I asked.

Off in the distance, I saw Leonel walk toward us. He was completely bundled up, and I laughed at the sight of him looking like he lived in the Padova Mountains.

"Hey, don't laugh!" he exclaimed, running up to us. "My mom got to me."

"Oh," I said. "So you're a mama's boy?"

"In no way, shape, or form am I a mama's boy," he replied, sitting down next to me. "My mom just chooses to live under the delusion that I am. So, what's going on?"

"We just need to go over some wedding stuff," Leann said. "I thought it would just be easier to meet here as opposed to the Chapel."

"Well," I said. "Let's go. It's not too far from here."

We practically ran to the Chapel, Aaron at front, Leonel in the middle, and Leann and me bringing up the rear. I missed being at the front. Leonel held the door for all of us, and we all took a deep breath. Even though we were running and therefore producing heat, it was still bitter cold out, and the warmth of being inside a building was great.

Gordon, Leonel's maternal grandfather and local priest, was standing at the altar.  
"Hello there!" he exclaimed in his great booming voice. "You all are old enough to hear my sermons now, aren't you?"

"No, Grandpa," Leonel replied. It was clear that he knew the drill on that one.

"We're here to discuss the wedding," Aaron said.

"Oh, yes!" Gordon exclaimed. "How could I have forgotten? Let's go in the back."

We followed Gordon into the back, and sat down in his kitchen.

"So," he said. "I take it Aria is your maid of honor and Leonel is your best man? First of all, let me say I'd never see the day where my grandson would actually start acting like a man!" He let out one of his loud blasts of laughter.

"Thanks," Leonel said. "Thanks a lot, Grandpa."

"But all joking aside," Gordon said. "Have you seriously thought about marriage, Aaron and Leann?"

"Yes," they replied in almost perfect unison. They inched closer to each other, but not too close. They were in the presence of a priest, after all.

"In that case," he said. "I'm going to need to speak alone with the couple. Leonel, if you and Aria wouldn't mind stepping out for a few seconds, then-"

"Gladly," I said. I didn't want to hear any of what they would be talking about.

We sat down next to each other in one of the church pews.

"What do you think they're talking about?" I asked.

"My parents say not to talk in church," he replied.

"_Barrett _tells you not to talk in church?" I asked in disbelief. Leonel nodded. "Barrett doesn't exactly believe in God. Are you sure you're not talking about your mom?"

"Dad tries to respect Mom's beliefs," Leonel replied. "And he had to do the prenuptial thing because of Grandpa. So, they had to raise me to believe in God."

"Do you?" I asked, completely out of curiosity.

"I don't know," he said, looking up at the big stained glass window. "It doesn't seem like there's too much to believe in these days." He looked at me and smiled. "Is that enough of an answer for you, rude girl?"

"I guess that was a little rude," I said, laughing slightly. "Sorry."

Leann and Aaron came out from the back of the church, both of them smiling broadly.

"What's going on with you?" I asked them.

"It's a secret," Leann said.

"We should go," Aaron said.

"Why?" I asked. "Why hang out in a freezing cold park when we can hang out here?"

"I don't know," Leonel said. "If Grandpa tells my parents that I was using the church as a hangout, I could get in trouble."

"Aw, come on Leonel!" I fake-whined. "Live on the edge a little! And besides, it's really cold out."

"Or you could just say your friends are really bad influences," Leann said.

"All right," Leonel said, as if he was being pressured into a big decision.

Aaron and Leann came and sat down in the pew with us.

"I just thought of something," Leann said. "Aaron, do you remember that time when we were seven and we started that trend?"

"What trend?" Aaron asked.

"You know," Leann said, scooting close to him. "The fake marriage thing!"

"Oh, yeah," he said. "I guess we _did_ kind of start that."

"I remember that!" I exclaimed. "I got married to Roy."

"Did you kiss?" Leann asked.

"Of course not," I replied. "I was seven. I only thought 'grown-ups' were supposed to kiss." Aaron and Leann looked at each other and started laughing. "What?"

"We didn't think that," Aaron said.

"That's so wrong!" I cried. "Little kids are supposed to be innocent and carefree!" I looked at Leonel. "You've been kind of quiet."

"I guess," he said. "But I don't remember very much of it. I just remember kind of watching everyone. Like when Sera and Serena were fighting over marrying Orland. But he had no interest in either of them. I couldn't get married, though, because the only person left after everyone else got married was related to me."

"Oh, yeah," I said. "I remember when Cammy got mad at me for taking Roy, and that it wasn't fair that she would have to marry her nephew."

"Which is illegal anyway," Leonel said with a laugh.

"She was bitter about that for weeks," Leann said.

"Finally," I said. "When she wouldn't give it a rest, I said I would tame a buffalo and have it charge at her on my command. She kind of backed off after that."

"Not exactly," Aaron commented. "She may have left _you _alone, but then she started saying she was going to beat me up. She never did, though. Either way, it scared the crap out of me that an older kid was threatening to beat me up."

"Well, then," a voice sneered. "I'll make sure to keep my promises in the future." We all turned around and saw that it was Cammy. She had her arms crossed, and looked very unhappy.

"We didn't mean any harm," Leonel said. "We were just talking about those fake weddings we had when we were kids!"

"Which you never had, you loser," Cammy retorted. Leonel looked at the ground like a scared monster.

"There's no need to be mean, Cammy," Leann said. "You've already hurt one of us enough."

_Great, Leann, _I thought sarcastically. _Bring _me _into this. Wonderful idea._

"You're saying _Aria's _hurt?" Cammy asked. "Ha! That's right. Aria's hurt. Well, guess what? I'm trying to help a guy you might know. In case you weren't aware of it, he had his heart broken by a cheating girlfriend."

"It was an accident and you know it," I said, standing up. I felt like I was going to lose it.

"Sure it was," Cammy said. "Of course, I wouldn't know. I don't go to parties where people drink and do other _terrible _things when they aren't married." Leann stood up as well. I had _never _seen her look that angry. Aaron grabbed her arm.

"I thought all this childhood rivalry crap was over," I said.

"As usual," Cammy said. "You thought wrong. And you shouldn't swear in a church. God is probably already going to damn you for…" She looked down at my huge stomach with a look of disgust. "…_That_." I started to walk toward her, but I felt someone grab my arm. I looked down to see that it was Leonel.

"Don't do this, Aria," he said. I sighed heavily. He looked up at Cammy "Just leave." Cammy scowled, but turned around to go to the back of the church.

As soon as she was gone, I broke down and started crying. Leonel was the first to comfort me, and then Aaron and Leann joined in.

"She was so nice to me before," I sobbed.

"She's two-faced," Leonel said. "But it's going to be okay."

For the next few minutes, I sat crying in the warmth of their hugs. Even though I knew that there were still a few people in the world who cared, it didn't seem to make anything better.

**Okay, so this chapter was a little pointless, except to prove how mean the kids in Alvarna have become. The next chapter will be really short, but full of anger and stuff. And it'll happen between Leonel and Aria!**

***Slaps self for saying too much***


	13. The Truth Comes Out

The next few weeks were freezing, and Grandpa Douglas said that this was the coldest winter that he could remember.

That didn't stop us from going to the Park, though. We still managed to sit and talk while bundled up in our coats, hats, and boots. Sometimes, Leonel and I would just hang out alone if Leann had a checkup or something. And of course, Aaron always had to go with her.

However, one day when it was particularly cold and there was a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, I decided to go see Leonel at his house.

"Is Leonel at home?" I asked as Barrett let me in.

"He is," Barrett replied, although he seemed like his thoughts were somewhere else.

"I feel like there's a 'but' coming on," I said.

"He's been acting strange all day," Barrett said. "He hasn't come out of his room, except for eating and such. And he hasn't been talking. I think he might be getting sick. But he usually likes to see you, so I'll send him down." He walked over to the stairs. "Leonel! Aria's here to see you!" There was no response whatsoever.

"He must be really under the weather," I said.

"Just go up there," Barrett said. "He'll probably cheer up once he sees you."

"You're letting me go into you son's room?" I asked jokingly.

"Well," he said, smiling for once. "Doesn't look like any more damage could be done."

I slowly walked up the stairs, and into Leonel's room.

"Wow," I said. "Those stairs sure are killer." As soon as I saw his face, though, my heart sank. He was just sitting there on his bed, but his feet were facing the pillow. But what really got me was the fact that he was staring at the wall. It wasn't a blank stare, though. It was completely depressed.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"I wanted to see you," I replied. "I thought we were friends."

"I…don't feel that way," he said.

I sat down on his bed so I was facing him. He didn't move.

"Leonel," I said in a sing-song voice, completely sure that what he was doing was a joke. "Leonel, snap out of it." I waved my hand in front of his face. He quickly pushed my arm out of the way, his expression changing to pure anger.

"Aria, come on!" he snapped. "Don't you know when to give a guy his space?" I sighed. It wasn't a joke.

"All right," I said. "What's going on? Is there something you need to talk about?"

"I just don't know how to say it," he said, sighing. He ran his hand through his hair, and I could tell he was in a lot of emotional pain.

"Maybe it would help," I said. "If you quit staring at the wall and looked at my face."

"Fine," he muttered.

He turned around, and his eyes looked tired.

"Doesn't look like you've been sleeping too well," I commented.

"I haven't," he replied. "I have something…I really need to talk to you about. And I've been avoiding it for the past six and a half months or so. I've been beating myself up inside over it, but I just didn't want to tell you."

"It'll be better if you tell me," I said. "That way, you'll get it out of your system."

"No, Aria," he said, his tone growing harsh again. "You're going to hate me for it. But I guess it's my own damn fault if you do." He was walking farther and farther away from me.

"Leonel," I said. "You're scaring me. Are you doing drugs or something?"

"No," he replied. "But I won't leave you guessing." He took a deep breath, and braced himself on a nearby table. He seemed almost like he was about to collapse.

"I can't make any promises," I said. "But whatever you tell me, I probably won't hate you." He turned his head toward me.

"Remember that party?" he asked.

"How could I forget?" I said, laughing. I placed a hand on my huge stomach. He didn't seem to hear me.

"I was studying the Friday before that," he said. "Orland was there, and he said he had a proposition to make." He sniffed, and it sounded like he was going to cry. "He said that…he wanted to get with Sera and Serena at the party. He said if I spiked the punch, then…he would stop being so mean to me. He would stop beating me up. He would stop humiliating me." He paused, and it sounded like he was crying. "He lied."

My jaw dropped. Although Orland was technically the reason I was pregnant, Leonel contributed. I didn't quiet know what to think. On one hand, he thought Orland would leave him alone, but on the other hand, he was selfish enough to think that there wouldn't be any consequences. Even though I said I wouldn't hate him, that news was way too much to bear.

"You selfish bastard," I said, trying to hold back tears.

"I've tried to make up for it," Leonel said. "I've tried to be nice to you, I've been your friend. Hell, I'm going to be in your brother's wedding just because you asked me to. I'm so sorry about what happened, and I just want to tell you-"

"I don't want to hear it!" I shouted. The tears were starting to stream down my face. "I'm leaving!"

I ran down the stairs, no matter how tired it made me.

"Aria," Dorothy said. "What happened?" I chose to ignore her, no matter how bad I felt about it, and ran out the door.

I ran all the way home, and straight up to my room. I lay down on my bed, and started to cry into my pillow. I didn't even hear the door open.

"I heard you crying," Leann said. "I thought you might want to talk."

"No," I replied, looking up from my pillow. "I _don't _want to talk."

"Did you go see Leonel?" she asked. "Did something happen there?"

"Stop asking me so many questions!" I shouted. "If I don't want to talk, then I don't want to talk!" Leann looked hurt, and I started to cry again. "J-Just…tell Aaron…he doesn't h-have a best man anymore." I buried my face in my pillow once again.

That time, I heard Leann leave. I cried for a very long time, so long that I wasn't even sure of what time it was. But I didn't care. My future was destroyed, I ruined my brother's wedding, and I lost a friend. I didn't want to care about anything.

**I know what you're all thinking: NOOOO!!! Aria's life officially sucks. And once again, I'd like to apologize for the length of this chapter. Too short! Argh!**

**And a hint: there will be a birth sometime in the near future! Aw, shit...why do I have to give hints?**


	14. An Apology

About a month later, I was still miserable. I hadn't told anyone what Leonel told me, so nobody understood. Aaron and Leann were plenty mad at me, and were in the process of finding a new best man, and everyone else kept their distance from me. There were two possible reasons to that. The first was that they didn't like me, and the second was that I looked like I was about to pop, even though I was only at seven and a half months.

One day when I was walking home, I tried to make conversation with Aaron and Leann.

"Spring's coming," I said. "I'm glad the cold is almost over."

"Hm," Aaron replied.

"Uh-huh," Leann said.

"Why are you not talking?" I asked. "I've barely heard anything from either of you for the past month."

"You single-handedly made our wedding a lot more complicated than it originally was," Leann replied. "That's why."

"Well," I muttered. "Excuse me."

"Don't try that," Aaron said. "Your sarcasm only goes so far. And just so you know, next time you're ever in a wedding, don't ruin it."

I started to get so mad, I couldn't think of anything else to do. I stepped on his foot. Sure, it was childish, but like I said, I couldn't think of anything better to do.

"What the hell?" he asked angrily. "What was that for?"

"For being an asshole!" I replied with an equal amount of anger.

"I don't know what's gotten into you!" he shouted.

"What about you?" I demanded. "You don't even know what happened between us!"

"Guys," Leann said. "Let's try to calm down a little."

"_Shut up_!" I shouted.

I suddenly heard a sound, almost like someone dumping out a bucket of water.

"What was that?" I asked.

"You showing your contempt for me," Aaron replied.

"What are you even talking about?" I asked exasperatedly.

"You just peed on my foot!" Aaron shouted.

"I did _not_," I replied. "I went pee right before school let out!" I paused, and stopped to think. "Wait a second."

"Oh my God!" Leann squealed. "Aria, your water just broke!" Aaron's face turned pale.

"What's that?" I asked.

"You're in labor," Aaron said, sounding absolutely horrified.

"Oh shit," I said. "Get me home! Now!"

"You can still walk!" Leann protested. "Aaron, go get Ray and Natalie, and Dorothy if you think they'll need her. I'll help Aria walk home." Aaron ran off in the other direction.

I put my arm around Leann, just to make sure I didn't fall.

"This is so exciting!" Leann exclaimed.

"Not really," I replied. "They're going to be a month and a half premature! Don't you think that could potentially be a little…problematic?"

"You just have to stay calm," she said. "Come on, we're almost home."

"Stay calm?" I asked. "Did you hear a thing I said? And the worst part is that I went into labor yelling at you!" I thought for a second. "Do you think Aaron will be mad at me?"

"For yelling?" she asked. "I doubt it." I realized we were at the door.

"Aria!" Dad exclaimed. He was covered in sawdust, and it looked as though he had been working on the house all day. "What's going on?"

"I'm in labor!" I replied. "Don't worry, Aaron's already going to get Ray." Leann opened the door, and I walked inside.

As Leann helped me walk upstairs, it really sunk in what was going on. I was finally going to meet my babies!

"Get into bed," Leann said. "You'll thank me later."

"I guess I will," I said. I felt an unbearable pain in my abdomen. "_Ow!_"

"That's why," she said.

Mom came into my room.

"Can I get you anything?" Mom asked.

"Some sort of painkiller!" I replied. For some reason, I was starting to feel overheated. "Oh God, Mom, I think I'm panicking."

"It's okay to panic," she said, putting a hand on my forehead. "I'll stay with you until Ray gets-" I felt that pain again.

"_Ow!_" I interrupted.

"Well," Mom said. "Get ready for a lot more of that."

"I should certainly say so, Mana," Ray's voice said. I turned my head, and saw Ray and Natalie standing in the doorway, both of them with mysterious-looking black bags.

"Thank God!" I cried. "You're here!"

"Here's how this is going to work, Aria," Natalie said. "I'm going to help deliver the babies, and Ray is going to assist me, give you medicine, as well as make sure the babies are healthy when they are born."

"Do you think everything's going to be okay?" I asked.

"It's hard to say at this point," Ray replied. "On one hand, twins often come before their due date. But on the other hand, I've never seen a case where they've been delivered at seven and a half months."

"Great," I muttered. I grunted in pain. "Can't you get me some painkillers or something?"

"Later," Natalie said. "But first, we brought you something to put on." She held up a plain white hospital-style gown.

"We'll give you some privacy," Ray said. He and Natalie left, closing the door behind them.

I quickly changed out of my regular clothes, and into the gown.

"Why do they even bother making them white?" I muttered. "It's just going to get blood all over it."

"I'd ask you the same thing, dear," Mom said. "But now isn't the time to be complaining about the little things."

"Yeah," I replied. "More like the _big _things. The big things that will soon be leaving my body." I lay back down in bed.

"I wouldn't call it soon, Aria," she said, opening the door. "Ray! Natalie! She's covered." She left the room, probably so they could work better.

"Excellent," Natalie said. "Now, Aria, we can give you some painkillers, but it might-"

"Just give me the drugs!" I cried, as the pain surged through me.

"Doesn't even want to consider the consequences," Natalie said, shaking her head. "Even though there are virtually none with the painkiller we're using."

I turned my head, and saw that there was some activity in the doorway.

"Boys," Ray was saying. "This is not the time or the place for you to be hanging around. Now, go." I heard footsteps, and turned my head again. To my dismay, Orland, Roy, and Leonel were all there.

"_What the hell is going on here?!_" I demanded. All three guys took a step back.

"I need to learn more about human anatomy if I'm ever going to college," Orland replied.

"Oh," I said, trying to avoid my explosive temper, even though it wasn't going to work. "Well, I think you know plenty about my lower region, thank you _very _much!"

"I just thought I'd tag along," Roy said, in his usual cheerful manner. I had absolutely no response to that.

"And you?" I asked Leonel.

"Well," he said. "Remember when we got into that fight about how I was so stupid?" He took a glance at Orland.

"Yeah, I do," I replied harshly.

"And do you remember that I wanted to tell you something?" he asked.

"Not particularly," I said.

"Um…I…" he started to say. "All I wanted to tell you was that…I l-love you." He paused, and looked down at me. "I love you, Aria."

It felt like I had been hit in the chest with a battle hammer, or worse. In addition to all the pain I was feeling, I realized that the guy who had ruined my life, just by pouring something into a punch bowl, really truly loved me. He had even looked at me, while I was sweaty, in labor, and wearing a shapeless white gown, and said it. That took real love. But no! I hated him. I _couldn't_ believe it.

"I know you probably still hate me," he continued. "And there's nothing I can do to make up for what I've done. I never would have hurt you in the way I did, if I had known what would happen. I promise never to be selfish again. I'll never hurt you, Aria." His face looked so sincere.

"Well," Orland sneered. "Isn't this adorable? Who would think that Leonel would ever like a girl?" He laughed, but before he could say anything else, Leonel hauled off and punched him in the face. Orland hit the floor, and Roy looked as though he was doing everything in his power not to run in the other direction.

"That's for knocking up the girl I've had a crush on since I was five," he said.

Once again, I couldn't think of anything to say. But in my opinion, any guy who could overcome humiliation like that and on top of it, knock Orland into next Tuesday, deserved my respect.

"Roy and Orland," I said. "Get the hell out of here. Leonel…" I looked at him, trying not to cry. "You can stay here." Roy shrugged, and Orland let out a little "hmph" while wiping some blood from his nose, but they both left. Leonel stood there for a minute, staring down at me.

"So you're not mad at me anymore?" he asked.

That was a tough question. On one hand, I had every right to be mad at him. But on the other hand, he indirectly gave me the opportunity to grow up a little.

"No," I replied. "I'm not. And I just realized it, but…I love you, too."

I wanted to stab myself in the face for forgetting what he had told me just a month or so before. But at the same time, he was gazing at me with an expression only the happiest man in the world could have.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Natalie said. "But Leonel, you can only stay if you promise not to get in the way. Understood?"

"Of course," Leonel said.

"_Ow!_" I screamed. I also added in a few curse words that were particularly bad. The moment was officially broken.

"And don't faint," Ray added. "That would count as getting in the way."

"If that's the case," I said. "Don't let Aaron in here."

"Is there anything you need me to do?" Leonel asked, looking at both Ray and Natalie.

"Keep her calm," Natalie said. "Just let her know everything's going to be okay."

"I _know _you can do that," I said, smiling. The smile quickly turned into a grimace, as I felt more pain.

"Ray," Natalie said. "Get that syringe with the painkiller in it."

"Got it," Ray said. He dug through his black bag, and pulled out a scary-looking syringe.

"God, I hate needles," I groaned.

"Well," Ray said. "This one's going to be your best friend for the next several hours. Let me see your arm." I hesitantly held out my arm, and cried out in pain as the needle stuck me. I sighed in relief as I felt Ray put a cotton ball and a bandage on it.

"It's okay," Leonel said. "You're doing a great job."

"How would you know?" I asked.

"Um…I don't," he replied.

"You're not going to be able to make sense for very long," Natalie said. "Savor the moment."

"Why won't I be able to talk?" I asked.

"The painkillers," Natalie replied. "They're the strongest ones we have, and they'll make you a little crazy."

"Wonderful," I muttered.

Time went on, and things seemed a little weird. I didn't feel any pain, though, so it was okay.

"What's this?" I asked, picking something up off my end table.

"It…looks like a broken piece of iron," Leonel asked confusedly.

"Fix it!" I shouted.

"Okay?" he said, although it sounded more like a question than an agreement.

"Don't pay any attention to her," Ray said. "The painkillers are kicking in."

"Is it feeling better?" I asked.

"Ray," Natalie said. "Exactly…how much of that painkiller did you use?"

"Now that I think about it," Ray said. "Probably more than I should have."

"Well, yeah!" Leonel exclaimed. "She's asking me if a broken piece of iron is feeling better!"

"Am I drunk?" I asked.

"No, Aria," Ray replied.

"Am I drunk?" I asked again.

"Are you _sure _you didn't use the tranquilizer instead of the painkiller?" Natalie asked Ray.

"I swear, Mom!" I shouted. "I just had one!" I held out one finger, and laughed hysterically.

"This is going to be a long night," Leonel muttered.

It was. But luckily, the painkillers eventually wore off.

"It's getting dark out," I muttered. "How long is this going to take?" I then cursed at the top of my lungs, as a sharp pain shot through my abdomen.

"Oh my," Natalie said. "Anyway, it shouldn't be much longer. If your water broke around three and it's already seven, then you don't have much time."

"God damn it!" I shouted. Of course, it was due to pain.

"Do you need more painkillers?" Ray asked.

"_No_!" Natalie, Leonel, and I shouted.

"All right, then," Ray said, seeming to back off a little bit.

"You're sweating like crazy," Leonel said softly.

"I know it," I said.

"I wish I could help," he said.

"If you don't mind, Aria," Natalie said. "I'll need to look under your gown, just to see how much longer we have."

"Okay," I said, immediately feeling myself blush.

She took a peek, and then smiled.

"It's just about time," she said. She turned to look at Leonel. "How strong are you?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"We need someone to hold one of Aria's legs up when it's time for the babies to be born."

"I can do that," he said.

I screamed, as I felt an unbelievable pain.

"That sounds like one of them is just about ready to come out," Natalie said. "Leonel, you take the right leg, and Ray, you can take the left. Just make sure the forceps are within reach if you need them." I felt my legs forced up into the air. As I felt more pain, I felt myself start to cry.

"What's going on?" I asked through my tears.

"Okay, Aria," Natalie said. "I want you to really try and push, when I say so." She paused for a second. "_Push!_"

My brain didn't exactly know what to do, but my body did. I took a deep breath, and pushed as hard as I could.

"Nothing," Ray said.

"Good job," Natalie said. "You're doing a great job. Now try again. Push!" I did exactly as she said.

"Now we've got something," Ray said.

"What kind of something?" I asked, breathing heavily.

"The top of a head," Natalie said. "Push!" I pushed again. "Great! Wow, look at those ears!"

I felt like crying again all of a sudden. The baby that was being born must have had Orland's ears. But why did it matter? I pushed again, but that time it was the hardest I had ever done it.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a baby's scream.

"It's a boy!" Natalie cried. "Congratulations. You'll have a little break now, though. Leonel, get Mana so she can take your place. We don't have much time."

"Sure," Leonel said. He ran out of the room, and quickly dragged in Mom, who must have been waiting outside the door.

"Mana," Natalie said. "We're going to need you to support Aria's right leg as she has the second baby."

"Of course," Mom said. "Leonel, why don't you cut the umbilical cord?"

"O-Okay," Leonel said hesitantly. My eyes were closed from exhaustion, and all I heard was a _snip_,and the sound of my little boy crying a little more.

"Good," Natalie said. "Ray, help wrap up that baby. It won't be long before Aria starts having contractions again."

As if her words made that happen, I felt more pain. I opened my eyes again, but all I could see of my new baby was a bundle of blankets in Ray's arms.

"Speak of the devil," Natalie said. "Ray, hand Leonel that baby, and get back here to help. Mana, you know what to do."

Mom and Ray got down on their knees and forced my legs up again.

"You're a strong girl, Aria," Mom said. "I know you can do this."

"We're going to repeat the process," Natalie said. She paused for a second. "Okay, push!" I had gotten the hang of the whole thing, so I pushed as hard as I could.

"This one's coming fast," Ray said.

"This shouldn't take long," Natalie said. "You're doing beautifully. Push!" I pushed. "One more time, and this should do it. _Push!_" I pushed, even harder than the time before.

I expected to hear a baby cry, but I didn't.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"Get this one to the clinic," Natalie said. "Get her there, Ray, and fast."

"What's happening?" I asked, tears forming in my eyes. I tried to get up, but the pain was unbearable. Unfortunately, that made it so I couldn't see a thing. I tried to get up, but cried out in pain.

"She's trying to get up!" Natalie shouted. "Give her a sedative."

"I'm sorry, Aria," Ray said.

I felt something stick my arm, and then everything went black.

**Wow. Really friggin' long chapter.  
**

**Just as a little side note, I rewrote this chapter after some of the reviews I got on the last chapter. I particularly enjoyed the punching scene.**

**And as another side note, I've never written a birth scene, so go easy on me. That was one of the main reasons I was afraid of posting this chapter.  
**

**And as another side note, has anyone ever read "My Immortal"? It's total lolage, but it's no longer on Fanfiction. The spelling is an insult to the English language.**


	15. Meeting Tristan

I opened my eyes, after what seemed like an eternity. Was that all a dream?

I became aware of my surroundings, and realized what had happened was no dream. I put a hand on my stomach, and felt that it was flatter than it had been before. The sheets of my bed were covered in blood, and I felt really sore down below. Sitting on the edge of the other bed were Mom and Dad.

"What happened?" I asked. "Where are my babies?"

"The boy is just fine," he said. "The girl, however, is in poor condition. That's what Ray, Natalie, and Dorothy say."

"Her lungs are underdeveloped," Mom said. "And she's much smaller than the boy. They have her at the clinic, hooked up to a machine that's helping her breathe. The only way she'll be able to survive is if we take her to the capital."

"The…capital?" I asked. "What's there?"

"Advanced medicine," Dad said. "According to Natalie, we don't have the technology to perform a major surgery such as the one the girl needs here in Alvarna. In the capital, they have huge hospitals with much more skilled doctors. Even then, it's risky, though." I started to cry.

"I want to see them," I sobbed. "I want to see my babies."

"Leonel has the boy out in the hall," Mom said. "I'll send him in. Maybe later, you can go to the clinic. But right now, you need to rest."

"No," I whispered. "I want to see them both."

"You can't, Aria," Dad said. "If you get up now, there could be serious complications. What good would that do for anyone?"

"I'll send Leonel in," Mom said. She got up, and went out into the hallway.

Leonel stepped into the room.

"I'll leave you two alone," Dad said. He also went into the hallway, along with Mom.

"Can I see him?" I asked Leonel, once I was sure they were gone.

"Yeah," he said, laughing slightly. I could see that his face looked a little tearstained. "He's your baby." I reached out my arms, and Leonel handed me the baby.

He was beautiful. His hair was soft, and the exact same color as mine. He had my rosy cheeks and complexion overall. However, I noticed that he _did _have pointy ears like Orland, and when he opened his eyes, I saw that they were a vivid blue-green. But I didn't care. He was my baby.

"Tristan," I said softly. I kissed him on the head.

"He's been great with me," Leonel said, kneeling down so he could look at Tristan with me.

"That's because…you're his daddy," I replied. Leonel looked shocked.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"Seriously," I replied. "I wouldn't want anyone else to do the job."

He got up, and sat on the edge of my bed.

"You know how I said I wasn't sure about God?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"I think I do now," he said. "Unless something happens to Arianna."

"Have you seen her?" I asked.

"I have," he replied. "Every time I look at her, it brings tears to my eyes. She's so beautiful, Aria. But then I realize that she's not breathing on her own, and if something happened to that machine, she could die. She's so small, and so fragile, and so helpless, but I couldn't stand to see anything happen to her." I saw a tear roll down his cheek, and I started to cry as well.

"I want to see her so much," I said through my tears. "I just want to talk to her and tell her she's all right."

"I've done that," Leonel said. "But who knows? Maybe she's a little Earthmate."

Tristan let made an odd little noise, and started to cry.

"What do you think is wrong?" I asked, wiping my eyes.

"You know just as well as I do," Leonel said. "Although he hasn't eaten since he was born." I looked out the window, and saw that it was dark.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"About an hour," he replied.

"Oh no," I said. "He probably _is_ really hungry."

"I'll step out for a second," Leonel said. He walked out into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

It took me a while to figure out how I could nurse Tristan without removing my entire gown, but I soon got around it, and started feeding him. I heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Aaron," Aaron's voice said.

"I'm here too," Leann's voice said.

"I'm nursing a baby," I said. "Can you wait?"

"Um…sure," Aaron replied.

After a few minutes, Tristan was finished eating. Or drinking…I wasn't sure what to call it.

"Come in," I said, readjusting my gown. The door opened, and Aaron and Leann walked into the room.

"I heard you screaming," Leann said. "Is it really that painful?"

"It is," I replied.

"Oh, Aaron," she said. "I'm scared for when it's my time to have a baby."

"I'll try not to faint," Aaron said. They say down on the other bed. "So, do you have names for them?"

"This is Tristan," I said, looking down at his little face. "And the girl is Arianna."

"Those are beautiful names," Leann said. "Is it hard knowing that one of your children may not survive?"

"It's really hard," I said.

"But it seems you and Leonel have made up," Aaron said. "Although I guess it's still pretty hard for you, sis."

We were quiet for a few seconds.

"Can I hold him?" Leann said finally. "I should probably practice."

"All right," I said. I was a little nervous about letting her hold my one healthy baby, but I handed Tristan to her anyway.

"Oh!" Leann cried. "He's absolutely adorable." As I watched vigilantly, I saw Tristan look up at her with a confused expression. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Can I try?" Aaron asked. "I need to practice too."

"Sure," I said. I continued to watch as Leann gently handed Tristan to Aaron.

_They're naturals, _I thought.

"Wow," Aaron said. "He's got pointy ears!"

"Don't remind me," I said. "I'd like to think of him more like Leonel's son."

"I understand," Aaron said. "But other than that, he looks just like you. Oh, and Dad's been working on the house almost nonstop. I guess he thought he'd have more time."

"Well," I said. "Tell him I'm sorry."

Mom walked in.

"Okay," she said. "Aria should probably rest. We're taking a long trip tomorrow, and she needs to be healthy."

"All right," Aaron said. He handed Tristan to Mom.

"Goodnight, Aria," Leann said. The three of them – or four of them, counting Tristan – left the room.

As they turned off the light, I realized just how tired I was. I felt my eyes flutter and close, even though I didn't want to fall asleep. My life was just getting too complicated.

**Kind of a short chapter, but it was kind of cute, in my opinion. And for those of you concerned about the story ending, don't fret. I think we've got a while to go ;)**

**Anyway, for those of you who stalk my profile, my computer is doing better. For those of you who don't...well, truth is, I got a Trojan Horse. I'm getting it fixed (hopefully) tomorrow, but I didn't lose any files. I just have to start my computer in safe mode.**

**But enough out of me! Let's hear something from you.  
**


	16. Meeting Arianna

To my surprise, I didn't wake up at all during the night. Tristan was such a good baby. I did, however, wake up really early in the morning. I heard someone down in the kitchen, and I assumed it was Mom.

"Mom!" I called, not sure if I was waking anyone up. I heard someone run up the stairs, and Mom came into my room.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Packing," Mom replied.

"Where's Tristan?" I asked.

"He's at the clinic," Mom said. "He's fine, though. Leonel's down there with him."

"When can I get out of bed?" I asked.

"Now," Mom replied. "But be careful. Get up slowly." I got up in a way that was slow for me, but ended up crying out in pain and falling. Mom caught me just in time.

"Thanks," I said.

"Listen to me next time," she said. "Now get dressed. We got a carriage service from a neighboring town, and we have to leave in an hour or earlier. I've already packed your bags, and everything for both babies."

As I got dressed, my mind wandered.

"How's Arianna doing?" I asked.

"Not much better," Mom replied grimly. "I can't imagine what you must be feeling. Not having seen her, not being able to hold her."

"Please," I said. "Let's not talk about it."

"I'm sorry," Mom said.

"Oh," I said, thinking of another question. "Who else is coming with us?"

"Well," Mom said. "Your father and I are coming, along with Aaron and Leann, and of course Tristan and Arianna. Dorothy will also be coming, just so she can help if anything goes wrong. Oh, and Dorothy and Barrett said it was fine for Leonel to come along. Are you all right with that?"

"Of course," I replied.

When I was completely dressed, I walked slowly down the stairs, and out of the house. Luckily, the bags Mom had packed were sitting right outside the door. Mom and I walked to the clinic, and even though it was a short walk, it was hard for me. The carriage was out front, and I marveled at how tame the buffamoo at the front were. I smiled when I saw Leonel standing out front with Tristan in his arms.

"We should get going," Mom said to Dad.

"All right," Dad said.

Suddenly, I saw Ray and Natalie step out of the clinic with something that looked like a large metal box. When they got closer, though, I saw that the top was made of glass.

"Stand back," Ray said. In an instant, I realized what was going on.

"Arianna," I said, almost in a whisper. Despite Ray's instructions, I dropped my luggage and walked right up to where my daughter was being carried.

I gasped. When Mom and Leonel had said she was tiny, they really weren't kidding. I thought Tristan was small upon seeing him, but Arianna was the tiniest thing I had ever seen. She couldn't have been more than a foot long. Her skin had a slight bluish tinge, probably from the lack of oxygen, and the only thing she was wearing was a cloth diaper. Not counting the tubes that ran all over her.

But somehow, I managed to see beauty in her. She had the same reddish-brown hair as her brother, and the same pointed ears. I was almost positive she had the same eyes as well.

I felt terrible. What had I done during those seven and a half months to put an innocent baby through such a nightmare? She couldn't eat. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't even cry to let us know how unhappy she was.

"She can't even cry," I said softly. I felt the tears start to come. "She can't even cry."

Everyone close to me hurried over to get me away, as well as console and hug me.

"She's going to be fine," Dad said. "You're even going to be able to stay with her during the ride."

"Okay," I sobbed.

Ray and Natalie gently put Arianna and her metal box into the carriage. I assumed that part was where Leonel, Dorothy, Tristan, and I would be staying.

"I wish you the best of luck," Natalie said, as all of us were getting into the carriage.

"Thank you," we all said.

I had trouble getting into the carriage, so I had to get some help. However, as soon as I got inside, I was astonished. There were two cribs set up, the bigger one for Arianna and her metal box, and the other one for Tristan, as well as a small changing table. There were also three beds, and everything else that one might find in a room at a nice inn or hotel.

"How the hell did Dad pay for this?" I asked, setting down my luggage.

"I don't think…the money is an issue," Dorothy said, with little hesitation.

"You're right," Leonel said, looking at his mother. He set Tristan in his crib. "I think your entire family is concerned about Arianna, and everyone wants to see her get better." He walked over and gave me a hug. I smiled, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Dorothy smile as well.

Tristan began to cry, and everyone turned to look. I started to hurry over to him.

"Oh, what is it now?" I asked, but not in a mean or impatient way. I picked him up out of his crib, and held him close.

"We fed him at the…clinic," Dorothy said. "He probably just needs a…diaper change." She stopped for a second, as if to think. "I should probably go see how the others are doing." She left, walking quickly out the door.

_Dear God, _I thought. _How the heck could I possibly forget _that_ part? _I thought for a second. _Ah, yeah. No younger siblings except Aaron._

Then, I felt my eyes widen. I didn't know how to change a diaper! What the hell was I supposed to do?

"Aria," Leonel said. "You're staring off into space."

"I knew that," I said.

"Oh," he said, smiling. "I get it."

"You get what?" I asked. Did he know what I was thinking? It was probably best just to play dumb.

"You don't know how to change a diaper," he said. I decided to give up.

"You're good," I admitted.

"Don't worry," he said. "I do." I almost took a step back.

"What?" I asked. "How?"

Leonel looked around the corner, as if he didn't want anyone to hear the conversation.

"My mom's a little weird," he said quietly. "Since she knows I want to be a teacher, she says I have to do the basic kind of stuff."

"How does changing diapers tie into being a teacher?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I…don't exactly know," he replied.

"I guess it doesn't matter," I said.

Leonel walked over to Tristan's crib, and lifted him out.

"He certainly doesn't sound happy," I said. "He sure liked you _before_ he was born."

"Well," Leonel said. "Now he's confused because he's got something in his diaper that wasn't there before."

"Just say poop," I said.

"Actually, no," Leonel replied. "It's pee, but I'm glad you think I'm not mature enough to say the word 'poop'."

"Okay," I said. "Let's just change the diaper already."

"Make sure you're watching," Leonel said as he set Tristan down on the changing table.

"All right," I said.

"Oh, wait," he said. "Do you have another diaper?"

"I'll have to go through my bag," I replied. I ran over to where I had set my bags on the floor, and started going through them. "Okay, nothing here." I opened another, just as Tristan's wailing got even louder. "Nothing in here, either! Damn it, where_ is _everything?"

"Try the one that says 'diaper bag'," Leonel said, laughing a little. I saw the bag he was talking about, and felt like a complete idiot.

"Good idea," I said sheepishly. I rummaged through that one, and found a piece of cloth that looked like it could have been a diaper. "Is this okay?"

"Perfect," he replied. "See, you're already finding your motherly self!"

"What?" I asked, handing it to him. "For swearing because I couldn't find a diaper?"

"Sure," he replied. "That's the way _my _mother was when I was a baby. Dad says so, anyway." I felt my eyes nearly pop out of my head.

"_Dorothy?_" I asked. "Wait, you're trying to tell me that _your mother _has said any kind of swear word once in her life?" Leonel laughed again.

"You _really _don't know my mother," he replied. "She's only shy around people that aren't me or Dad. And I can imagine being Gordon's kid could wear on your nerves a little."

"I can understand that," I said.

"Hold on a second," he said. "Were you paying attention at all?"

"What?" I asked. "To our conversation?"

"No," he replied. "The diaper change, maybe?" I looked down, and saw that Tristan's diaper was clean.

"Whoa," I said. "That…was fast." I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Wow," he said, shaking his head.

Tristan's screams got gradually quieter, but for some reason, he didn't want to stop crying. I picked him up, and held him close, supporting his head with my hand. Unfortunately, the crying went straight into my ear that way. I looked at Leonel, feeling completely helpless.

"Do something!" I cried. Leonel looked around the room, as if for help. But of course, nobody was there. Then, he did what I never thought I'd see him do. Or rather, _hear _him do.

He began to sing a song I had never heard before. It was in a strange language, but the melody was beautiful, and although I didn't know the song, I could tell he hit every note. I almost took a step back and asked, "Who are you and what have you done with Leonel?", but I didn't. Tristan was starting to calm down a little, and finally he stopped crying altogether.

"He's asleep," Leonel whispered. Wordlessly, I put Tristan in his crib as gently as humanly possible.

I still hadn't recovered from the shock of Leonel's voice.

"How…what…?" I stammered.

"Ssh," he whispered.

"But-" I started to say. He interrupted me with the same thing. I tried a whisper. "Where the hell did you learn to do _that?_"

"Sing?" he asked in a whisper. "I don't exactly know. My parents aren't musical, so I don't know how I ended up the way I am."

"How come you didn't tell anyone?" I asked softly.

"I was a shy kid," he replied. "And I didn't see the point in bragging. Besides, everyone would have made fun of me."

"I wouldn't have," I asked. "I can carry a tune, but I can't sing like that. Where did you even learn that song?"

"My dad taught me it," he said. "Of course, he couldn't sing it for me, but he could pronounce the words. He knows about that sort of thing. But he gave me some really old sheet music, and I figured out how to play it on the Church piano."

"What language was that even in?" I asked.

"It's…kind of funny that you ask that," he said. "I may not be right, because I learned the song when I was about nine, but it was actually written by the Earthmates. Dad says it has the power to heal. I always tried it when I was little, when I was sad, or if I got hurt, and it never worked." He looked down at the ground and laughed.

As he wasn't looking at me, I found myself gazing at him. It was weird, because somehow, over the course of less than a day, he had changed. I noticed for the first time that his hair wasn't quite so blonde anymore, and the freckles that once were all over his nose and cheeks had disappeared. And his face was far from girly. Sure, it wasn't the manliest face around, but it sure wasn't girly. A thought hit me as I continued to stare.

"Aria," he said, forgetting that we were supposed to be whispering. "You're kind of looking at me in a weird way."

"Not weird," I said. "I just realized that…I've told you I love you, but I haven't even kissed you." He looked more surprised than I had ever seen him, but then smiled.

"I'm a kiss virgin," he admitted.

"I'm not," I said. It was as though I was possessed, but suddenly, I kissed him on the mouth with no warning whatsoever.

At first, I could tell he had no idea what to do, but I eventually felt his arms relax. He then started to bring me closer, and I let him. A few seconds after, we broke the kiss.

"Wow," we said, almost in perfect unison.

"Are you sure you've never kissed anyone before?" I asked. "Or are you just a fast learner?"

"Um…fast learner," he replied. "Can we do that again?"

"Sure," I replied. "Any time." I leaned in again, and gave Leonel his second kiss.

I heard the door open, and someone shrieked. We quickly pulled away from each other, but it was for nothing. The people that had come in were Leann and Aaron.

"I knew it!" Leann squealed. "I _knew _it!" He held out her hand to Aaron. "Cough it up."

"Fine," Aaron said with a sigh. He dug through his backpack, and pulled out a few pieces of gold. He put them in Leann's hand. "I'm going to be_ so _broke."

"Maybe you should get a job," Leann said. "You're going to have to support a family really soon!"

"Um, speaking of which," I said. "You probably shouldn't get angry. You remember what happened the last time one of us got angry."

"Don't, Aria!" Leann cried. "You'll jinx me!"

"We've got a sleeping baby in here," Leonel said. "Could we keep the shrieking down to a minimum?"

"What do you mean, 'we'?" Leann asked. "I was the only one shrieking, Leonel." I could tell Leonel wasn't exactly sure of how to respond to that.

_Dumb as a bag of hammers_, I thought. _You've got to love her, though_.

Dorothy walked through the door, with a medical bag in her hand.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked softly.

"No," I replied, but I was glaring at Leann and Aaron.

"Not anymore, anyway," Aaron said, smiling.

_Don't you dare_,I thought, glaring at him.

"Yes," Leann said, obviously catching on. "Something very exciting."

_Are you crazy? _I thought, switching my glare over to her. _This is his _mother! _She's going to think I'm a slut!_

"What's going on?" Dorothy asked.

"Leonel and Aria were making out!" Leann exclaimed. Of course it had to be Leann. After all she shouted into a room of people that I was having twins almost six months ago. I felt my face turn a little red, which rarely happened, and Leonel completely blushed.

"Please don't have Dad kill me," Leonel pleaded.

"I'm _not _going to have Dad kill you," Dorothy said quietly. Even so, she still managed to sound like a mother. "You're sixteen and have never had a girlfriend. I'm glad you've finally decided on having a life." My jaw dropped, and Leonel's face turned red again.

"Thanks, Mom," he said.

"Always," Dorothy replied sweetly. "I just thought I'd check on you."

She left the room, and as soon as the door closed, I burst out laughing.

"I always thought she was the sweet little church girl!" I exclaimed.

"So did I!" Leann cried.

"Keep it down," Leonel said, but I could see he was smiling, even though Dorothy probably embarrassed the crap out of him.

"Oh, all right," I said.

"I was good," Aaron commented. "_I _didn't make fun of him."

"Well," I said. "Good for you for being mature."

"He _is _mature," Leann said. "He's got to be. He's going to be a daddy soon."

"I think Leann is right," Leonel said. "I think we've all grown up a little since this whole thing started."

"Great," I said. "That's the best life lesson yet. If you want to grow up, get pregnant, get someone else pregnant, or befriend some pregnant girl you've had a crush on since you were a little kid."

"You don't think you've matured at all, Aria?" Leann asked.

I ignored Leann's question at first, and decided to go check on Tristan to see if he had slept through all the noise and laughter. He had. I looked over at the second crib, and gazed down at Arianna. Her chest rose and fell as she seemed to be in a perpetual sleep, but I knew the breathing wasn't hers. I felt overcome with an unbearable sadness, despite the temporary happiness I had felt earlier. I wanted to hold my baby girl close, but I knew I couldn't until she got better. _If _she got better.

"If anything," I replied, as a tear rolled down my cheek and onto the glass covering of the box. "This whole thing is going to age me physically." I tried to make it seem like I wasn't crying, but I could tell that Leann and Aaron knew something was a little off, since I heard them leave.

Leonel came up behind me, and brought me into a hug. I started to cry, and my shoulders shook.

"I…j-just want…everything to be o-kay!" I sobbed, trying to keep as quiet as I could.  
"I know," he said. "I do too. She's going to be okay." He paused, and I felt him give me a soft kiss on my forehead. "And not to mention, you've been going through all kinds of emotional and hormonal turmoil for the past day."

"More like…seven and a half months," I replied. Leonel laughed.

"You're right," he said. "Seven and a half months."

**Okay, so the ending was kind of bad. I was rushing to get this chapter posted, which is probably not a good idea. Either way, I know some of you have been waiting. Leonel is totally right. Aria _is _on an emotional roller coaster.  
**

**And I know the part about the breathing machine isn't accurate. I had to think of something that sounded archaic, though, but also functional enough to save a baby that can't breathe on her own.  
**

**I'd also like to dedicate this chapter to Bandit Lee Way, who was born two days ago. She's the child born to Gerard Way of MCR and his wife Lyn-Z (Lindsey Ballato) of MSI. Congrats to the two of them on their healthy new baby girl!  
**


	17. The Capital

The trip to the capital took the rest of the day, and the whole night. That time, Tristan managed to wake us up three times within two hours. Leonel and Dorothy were nice enough to wake up and help. Unfortunately, their help didn't make up for the lack of sleep.

"Aria, wake up," Leonel said, nudging me. I woke with a start, and then felt embarrassed. I had fallen asleep sitting straight up.

"What?" I asked.

"I think we're here," he said.

"And what makes you think so?" I asked, smiling sleepily at him. He laughed.

"Take a look out the window," he said. I looked around, and saw that there was a large window behind me. I got up, walked over to it, and gasped.

Outside, I saw a completely foreign world. There were tall buildings everywhere, and people seemed to be moving about. It was really weird, because nobody seemed to be saying hello to anyone else. Since I had never been anywhere outside of Alvarna, it was strange to see that sort of thing.

"This is amazing," I said in awe.

"Isn't it?" Leonel asked. He got up from where we had been sitting, and put one of his arms around me. "And just think. Arianna's going to get as much help here as she needs." I put my arm around him, and he kissed the top of my head.

Leann came bursting through the door, practically dragging Aaron behind her.

"Isn't this the most wonderful thing?" Leann asked excitedly. "Aaron, we get to try on the wedding clothes we ordered!" She kissed him on the cheek.

"I know," Aaron said. "But more importantly, Arianna is going to get better."

"Of course," Leann said. "But still! Our wedding isn't that far off, and we'll be married in just a matter of months!"

"I just thought of something," I said. "Leann, won't you be due sometime around your wedding?"

"Oh, nobody should worry about that," she said, with a wave of her hand. "I'll be fine. Oh, and Leonel and Aria! You'll be able to try on your wedding outfits, too!"

"I'm very excited to be wearing a tuxedo," Leonel said, obviously mocking Leann's excitement.

Dad peeked his head through the door, and then walked in.

"Just making sure everything's all right," he said. "We'll be at the hospital very shortly, and then we'll be staying at the inn. Everyone, you probably want to repack your bags, collect your children, et cetera."

"Will we be staying with Arianna?" I asked.

"The doctor is going to need to do an examination," Dad said. "I suggest that you and Leonel stay with her, especially during the surgery." I sighed.

"Don't worry," Leonel said to me.

"Dorothy will also be with you," Dad said. "That way, she can thoroughly explain to the doctors and surgeons what exactly is going on."

"Okay," I said.

As Dad was about to leave the room, he turned around to face us again, as if he had forgotten something.

"I just wanted to say, Aria," he said. "That your mother and I are really proud of you. In fact, that goes for all of you. You've been more mature and supportive than most teenagers I've heard of."

"Thanks, Dad," Aaron and I said. We turned to face each other. It had been a very long time since we had spoken in unison.

"Thank you, Kyle," Leonel and Leann said.

The carriage suddenly stopped.

"Wow," I said. "I guess when he said 'soon', he really meant it."

"No kidding," Leonel added, as Dorothy came into the room.

"I'm going to need help transporting Arianna into the hospital," she said softly. "Leonel, why don't you help? Aria has to carry Tristan."

"All right," he said. He walked toward the crib with the machine in it, but then turned to me. "I promise I'll be careful."

I picked Tristan up out of his crib as gently as I could, and cradled him in my arms. We all stepped out of the carriage, everyone looking down occasionally so that they didn't trip and drop any precious cargo. Luckily, nobody did. I looked up, and saw that the building was much like the clinic, only bigger. In fact, when I looked up, I thought the hospital was going to topple over onto me. Even though that was one of the dumbest things I had thought of in a long time, I clutched Tristan closer to me. I tried to catch up with Leonel and Dorothy. Somehow, they had gotten very far ahead of me. I saw people staring as they carried Arianna and her metal box.

_Stop it! _I thought, literally feeling a pang in my chest. _Leave my baby alone! It's not her fault!_ It was as though Leonel could tell what I was thinking. Or maybe he was thinking it too, because he looked back at me. His expression was very sad as well.

The hospital was just about as busy as the streets. A woman sitting at a desk got up, grabbed a strange looking cart, and started walking toward us. We stopped.

"Hello," she said cheerfully. "You must be Aria. We've been expecting you." She pointed to two sets of double doors. Next to the doors were several men holding tightly onto pulleys. "Those over there are our newly installed elevators. An elevator is a machine that you can use instead of walking all the way up the stairs. The men over there are operating them. The one on the left goes up, and the one on the right goes down." I looked at the elevator apprehensively.

"Are they…safe?" I asked.

"Of course," the woman replied. "Oh! I need to give you a map so you can find your way around. And of course, this is for your baby." She took a piece of paper out of her pocket, and pushed the odd cart-like thing toward us. "I'm sorry I can't stay with you longer. The hospital is very busy today."

"That's quite all right," Dorothy said. "Thank you." The woman hurried off to her desk, and Dorothy and Leonel set Arianna into the cart.

I opened the map carefully, since I was holding Tristan. I looked it over.

"There are too many things that say 'surgery'," I commented. Leonel took a few steps so that he was closer to me. He ran his index finger over the map.

"Pediatric surgery," he said finally. "On the second floor. That's where we want to go."

"Good job," I said. "I wouldn't have figured that out."

"My mother is a nurse," he said. "I'm sure you would know if you were in the same position."

"Second floor, please," Dorothy said to one of the men with a pulley. He grunted something, then nodded. He started pulling on the ropes, and soon, the elevator doors opened, and people stepped out. I looked at the doors in awe.

I apprehensively walked through the doors into a small room, continuing to hold Tristan close. Leonel walked inside as well, and Dorothy and Arianna followed.

"This is kind of freaky," I said.

"It's okay," Leonel said. "These are going to be all over the place in this city, and nobody has died."

"What about horribly mangled?" I asked.

"Stop it," he said.

The elevator doors opened to reveal a long, white hallway. Dorothy walked out, pushing Arianna. Then, Leonel walked behind her, and walked after them, holding Tristan.

"We're lucky," Dorothy said. "The doctor you're seeing has her office right here." Leonel opened the door, and Dorothy pushed Arianna inside, I carried Tristan, and Leonel came after me, shutting the door behind him.

Dorothy walked up to a desk where a receptionist was sitting.

"Is the doctor in?" she asked. "We're the ones who sent you that letter the other day, regarding-"

"Ah, yes," the receptionist replied in a bored tone of voice. "We thought you'd be earlier. Either way, go to the first door on your left. Dr. Morris will be there."

"Thank you," Dorothy said.

Again, we had to walk through a long, white hallway. The clinic back home wasn't nearly as clean-looking as that hospital. And the lights they used at the hospital stressed me out even more than I was already. We turned to go into the first door on the left.

Standing in a perfectly white room with an examination table and other odds and ends was a fairly young woman with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. She had the palest skin I had ever seen, even more so than Leann. She was wearing a white coat and rubber gloves.

"You must be Aria," she said. Her voice surprised me. It was loud and slightly raspy. "I'm Dr. Morris."

"Yes," I replied. "Nice to meet you."

"And you're Dorothy, the one who sent me the letter," Dr. Morris said. She turned her attention to Leonel, and raised an eyebrow. "You the babies' father?"

"Not biological," he replied. "I guess I was…appointed."

"I see," she replied. "Well, let's take a look at Arianna. Could you bring that cart over here?"

"Of course," Dorothy said timidly. She wheeled the cart to Dr. Morris, who looked at the metal box with great concern. "It's a little old."

"Old?" she asked. "I'd say it's absolutely archaic! For what it is, anyway. It's got to be at least forty years old. No wonder it's almost out of runes!"

_So that's how it works, _I thought.

"We don't have very advanced equipment in Alvarna," Dorothy explained. "The last time this was used actually _was _a little less than forty years ago. Aria's mother's twin brother died as a newborn from a similar condition, from what I've been told."

"That's unfortunate," Dr. Morris said. "It's probably hereditary, then. I have a mask I can put on her during the examination, but I'll have to take her out of there first. Just thought I'd let you know before doing so."

"Go ahead," I said. "You're the doctor."

Dr. Morris picked something that looked like a mask with a tube on it off her examination table. She then proceeded to unscrew something on the metal box, and somehow got it open. She gently lifted Arianna out of it.

I saw Arianna open her mouth, and heard her gasp. It was very faint, but it made me want to cry.

"It's okay, baby," Dr. Morris said, lowering her voice slightly. "I know you're trying." She put the mask over Arianna's nose and mouth, and I saw her chest start to rise and fall again.

"Is that going to help her breathe?" I asked.

"For now," Dr. Morris replied, laying Arianna on the examination table. "All right, let's check on these lungs." With one hand, she put on her stethoscope, and started moving it around on Arianna's chest. "Oh my goodness."

"What?" I asked.

"You weren't kidding when you said her lungs were underdeveloped," she said to Dorothy. "We're going to have to do surgery as soon as we can. We should be able to in about a day." She turned to me. "We're going to have to keep Arianna at the hospital until then. You'll be able to visit any time you want."

"Okay," I said. On one hand, I was relieved that Arianna was going to be able to have surgery so soon, but at the same time, she still wasn't better.

Dr. Morris and Dorothy discussed all the specifics, while I pretended to understand.

"I want to stay here," I said to Leonel. He looked thoughtful.

"Aria," he said finally. "She's going to be fine here. And you really need to get your mind on something else."

"You're telling me to stop being a mother?" I asked.

"No, I'm not," he said. "I didn't mean it like that. You just need to relax a little. That's all." He looked at me, and smiled. "I'm sure Leann will be able to think of something fun to do." I smiled back at him.

"All right," I said. "You win."

As we left the hospital, I felt a small sense of hope. It was almost as though everything _was _going to be all right. I looked down at Tristan, which probably wasn't a good idea, since I was walking.

"Arianna's going to be okay," I said. And for some reason, it felt like a promise.

**Long time, no update. Writer's block officially sucks. And so did that chapter. Kinda. Actually, it was just mostly boring.**

**And do you know what else sucks? I can't think of anything to write for the sequel. If there _is _going to be one. I know I said that there would be, but I just don't know right now. At least I have the epilogue in my mind as well as final chapters, but that's about it.**

**If nobody's interested in a sequel, though, I may write something related to Rune Factory: Frontier. I just got that game, and it's awesome.  
**

**I'll drop some hints, though: there _will_ be mentions of bridal shops, weddings, Orland being a brat, and one other small, pooping thing. Some of it will be coming very soon, some of it will be coming later. Pay attention!  
**


	18. Never Forget to Close the Door!

I should _never_ have let Leonel talk to Leann.

Even after getting to the inn in a smaller carriage, I still felt terrible. Even though Tristan and Leonel were there, it wasn't very comforting. As we got out, Leonel tipped the driver, and tried to keep Tristan from crying again. I had fed him in the carriage, so it had to be the diaper.

Just as luck would have it, Leann and Aaron were sitting on a couch in the lobby having tea. They didn't even notice us come in.

"Drink up," Leann said to him. "It's expensive, and it's good for you."

"How can you even choke this down?" he asked.

"I happen to like it," she replied. "And if you don't like it, then that's your problem."

"I thought pregnant women can't have caffeine," he muttered.

"That's why I'm drinking decaf," she said. "Just finish your cup. Maybe we can get you some coffee or something."

"Coffee?" he asked. "I'll be up all night!" I decided to interrupt.

"I thought being engaged was supposed to be exciting," I said. They looked up.

"Your brother is a wino," Leann said. Aaron gave her a confused look.

"Um, Leann," I said, as nicely as I could. "I think you mean 'whiner'. A wino is a-"

"Let's just get to the point," Leonel said. "Leann, Aria needs to take her mind off being stressed."

"Oh, leave it to me!" Leann exclaimed, suddenly forgetting about Aaron's complaints. "I know exactly what we can do! But it'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Don't be silly!" she cried. "Aria, we're in the city! There's plenty to do here! We can go shopping, or sightseeing, or-"

"Okay," I said, just trying to get her to stop talking so much. "You have me interested."

"This is just perfect," Leann said excitedly. "We also have to go by the bridal shop tomorrow! That means you boys have to come, too!"

"Great," Leonel and Aaron said, with an equal amount of disinterest.

"On that subject," Leann continued. "I _just_ can't wait for the wedding! I've been picking everything out! Unfortunately, we still have to find a flower girl and a ring bearer." She gasped, as if she had come up with a great idea. "Maybe Tristan and Arianna could do it!"

"Leann," I said, looking down at Tristan. "They're not even a week old. And…" I came very close to saying that I wasn't sure Arianna would live, but I stored that thought in the back of my mind. "Never mind."

"I guess you have a point," Leann said, still looking pensive. Or, as pensive as she could get.

Tristan started to cry again.

"Okay," I said to him. "You've been good. We'll find our room and get you a diaper change."

"I'll help," Leonel said. "Since you weren't watching the first time." We started to walk away.

"Well," I said, pretending to take offense. "Sorry for having a short attention span."

"I accept your apology," he replied with a laugh.

After a short walk, we reached a long, dimly-lit hallway, and unfortunately for us, it went two ways.

"What are we going to do?" I asked. "We have no idea where our rooms are."

"One Z!" I heard Aaron shout.

"What?" Leonel asked, giving me a confused look.

"Hey," I said. "Don't look at me. I don't understand him half the time either." I heard an irritated groan and footsteps. Aaron appeared at the other end of the hallway.

"One Z," he said. "It's the name of your room, Aria. Leonel, you and your mom are in One X, Mom and Dad are in One Y, and Leann and I are in One W. The number and letter will be on the door."

"Oh," I said. "Thanks, Aaron."

"Glad to help," he replied. "Just not with diaper changes or spit-up stains."

"Look," Leonel said, pointing at the wall. "There's a sign. One Z is at the very end of the right side of the hallway."

"Wow," I said as we started to walk again. "I feel kind of stupid now."

"You've got other things on your mind," he commented.

"I hope that wasn't meant to be a suggestive comment," I said.

"And I hope you're not trying to get me to have sex with you," he replied.

"Ha," I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm fat, sore as hell, tired, and I have a crying infant. Sex is the last thing on my mind. Not that I really remember my first time too well, but-"

"Back up," he said. "If sex is the last thing on your mind, why would you accuse the innocent little virgin of making a suggestive comment?"

"You're saying virgins don't think about sex?" I asked. He sighed.

"I really don't want to get into this conversation," he said. "We've used the word 'sex' in our little _dialogue _at least five times, and my mom could walk out of her hotel room any time."

"I thought she was relieved that you had a girlfriend," I said. "Although that kind of makes it sound like you're gay or something." He laughed slightly.

"Believe it or not," he said. "My parents thought that for a while."

"What?" I asked. "Why?"

"I don't know," he said. "I came to several conclusions, but I can't seem to narrow it down. It's either because I care about the way I look, I like music, I had no friends until all this, I never talked about girls, and I had no friends. Oh, and here's the room. I don't think we even need a key." He opened the door.

"Don't try to change the subject," I said.

"You've got a screaming baby in your arms," he said. "And all you want to know is whether or not I'm gay?"

"That's not true," I said. "But it's appeared on my list of concerns." I was totally kidding, but I was one of those types of people that could lie or tell a joke with a straight face.

The room was pretty Spartan, and the only feature of it that possibly made it different was the crib next to the bed, and a changing table nearby. Someone had also put all of my suitcases in front of the bed.

"Okay," Leonel said. "Forget _that_ for a second. We need to change Tristan's diaper. And you need to watch this time."

"Great," I said.

Leonel set Tristan down on the changing table, and I watched as he changed the diaper. Like before, he did the job really quickly.

"All right," I said, when he finally finished. "That was kind of fast, but I think I've got it this time." I saw Tristan's eyes start to close, and we both took that as a cue to go dead silent. His eyes finally closed completely, and I lifted him off the table as gently as I could, and set him gingerly into the crib.

I wiped some nonexistent sweat from my brow, but I saw that Leonel was looking at me smiling as if he was thinking of something _very _bad.

"You still think I'm gay," he said.

"I was kidding about that," I whispered. "And will you _please _be quiet? I don't want him to wake up and start crying a-"

I was interrupted by Leonel's mouth crashing against mine. It was a rough kiss, but I kind of liked it. So, I kissed back.

"I see you've found your footing," I said.

"You need to relax," he whispered in my ear.

"I am," I replied.

We continued making out in the middle of the room, and I almost forgot about everything that was wrong in the world. That is, until we heard someone shriek in the doorway. We immediately stopped.

"We forgot to close the door," I said.

"Yep," Leonel replied. "Come on in, guys." I turned around, and saw that Aaron and Leann were wearing almost-identical confused expressions.

"Jeez," Aaron said. "We know you guys _like _each other. You don't have to go make out in a secluded area just to make it seem like nothing's going on."

"I wouldn't call it secluded," Leann commented. "They had the door wide open."

"We forgot," Leonel said.

"I guess that's one way to put it," I said.

"You should sleep, Aria," Leann said. "It's dark out, and you didn't sleep very much last night." It was true. I had been so worried about Arianna, and then I had gotten my adrenaline up, so I was basically going to crash.

"I guess," I said.

"You're going to need it," Leonel said.

Aaron and Leann left, so Leonel and looked at each other for a minute until we were sure they were gone.

"Next time," I said. "Let's close the door."

"Sounds like a reasonable request," he said. He walked over the me, and kissed me on the cheek. "Good night."

"You too," I said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"All right," he said, walking to the door. He closed it behind him.

I watched Tristan sleep as I opened one of the suitcases and changed into my pajamas. When I turned off the lamp next to my bed, like I predicted, I crashed into a deep and dreamless sleep.

**First chapter in over three weeks! Yay! For those of you who didn't know, I was in Mexico for three weeks doing an immersion limited computer access on that trip, and I didn't have my external hard drive anyway. Oh, and just for clarification, where I was, the Swine Flu...er...H1N1 virus is a big joke. It's a big joke anyway.**

**And apparently, I also have a bad habit of killing computers. RIP desktop. You will be missed, along with Michael Jackson, Billy Mays, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Dixie the dog. I have named this past week (since it's technically now the 29th my time) the WEEK OF DEATH.**

**Moving on. I basically wrote this chapter in three hours. It was supposed to include what was going to happen in the NEXT chapter, but everything just got a little out of control with the naughty stuff ;) Okay, so it wasn't THAT bad. I'm just a loser.**

**Right now, I'm estimating that this story will have 21 or 22 chapters, including the epilogue. But who knows? I could decide I want a whole chapter on something completely random. Almost like this one.**

**Don't worry! Things will get more interesting. And don't forget that little button in the middle of the bottom of the page that gives you free cookies! Hehe.**


	19. Baby Clothes, Past and Present

My eyes slowly opened as I heard noise from the inside of my room. Tristan had woken me up so many times the night before that I had lost count, so I hoped with all my heart that no crying would follow.

Fortunately, the only thing that followed was Aaron's voice in a whisper. I knew it was him, because he always had more of a stage-whisper than a real one.

"Should I get some cold water?" I heard him say. I heard a sort of _thump_, and realized that was someone whacking him. "Ow, Leann! Why do you always have to be so violent?" I heard another _thump_. "Jeez! Leonel!"

"Are you crazy?" I heard him ask. "If you wake up that baby, she's going to be pissed!"

"I can hear you all," I said finally. I stretched my arms. "What are you doing in my room at this hour?"

"First of all," Aaron said. "It's ten in the morning. Second of all-"

"Happy birthday!" Leann shrieked.

I let my eyes adjust to the light, and saw that Aaron, Leann, and Leonel were holding a cake with candles. To my surprise, Tristan didn't wake up. But even more surprisingly, I had forgotten my birthday! And just a little bit less surprising, Aaron, who never liked sharing "his birthday", had helped wake me up to give me a cake.

"Holy crap!" I exclaimed. "How the hell did I forget our birthday, Aaron?"

"It's understandable," he said. "You've been stressed out, and you haven't been thinking about yourself."

"Oh, I feel bad now," I said, feeling my face start to fall. "We usually make each other a present, and I completely forgot!"

"That's okay, sis," he said, smiling. "I guess fifteen-year-old traditions need to be broken at some point."

"I actually sort of remember that," I said. "Even though we were like two. Didn't you get me a home-made sword or something?"

"Yeah!" he replied, his face lighting up. "And you made me breakfast!"

"I think Mom helped with that one," I said.

"Probably," Aaron said. "But she also helped with this…" He looked down at the cake as an indication, since his hands were full. "…Because I'm broke."

"You really need a job before the baby comes," Leann said.

"Changing the subject," Aaron muttered.

Mom, Dad, and Dorothy walked through the open door, all three of them looking happy.

"Seventeen," Mom said, shaking her head in awe.

"I think I need to sit down," Dad said. "I've only got a year until they're legal." He sat down in an armchair in the corner of the room.

"You're next," Dorothy said, pointing a finger at Leonel, but still seeming pretty shy.

"I know, Mom," Leonel replied. "Let's try to keep the noise to a minimum. We've got a sleeping baby in here."

"That's so weird," I said, suddenly realizing that my twins had only been born a few days before. "Aaron and I have almost the exact same birthday as Tristan and Arianna." I looked over at Tristan's crib, and saw that he was awake. I picked him up out of the crib, and held him.

"Look at what a good baby he's being!" Mom exclaimed. "It's like he wants you to have a good birthday."

"You might think that now," I said. "But you should have been here last night."

"Oh, Aria!" Leann cried. "You need to get dressed so we can go into town!"

"That's right," I said. I looked down at Tristan. "Sorry, buddy, but I'm going to have to put you back in your crib."

"I guess we'll eat the cake later," Aaron said.

"Don't worry," I said. "I promise we'll eat it. Your efforts weren't for nothing, little brother." Aaron suddenly blushed, and I realized that he probably didn't like being referred to as "little brother" in front of his fiancée and best man.

"Okay," Leonel finally said. "Everybody out."

"He's right," I said. "I need to get dressed, and I don't want all of you watching." Everyone filed out pretty quickly after that comment.

I quickly changed my clothes, although I was still pretty sore. Tristan somehow managed to keep quiet the entire time. That is, until I heard a knock at the door. For some reason, that made him cry.

"Come in," I said exasperatedly, as I picked up Tristan out of his crib. Leann walked through the door, with a pained expression on her face.

"I'm _so _sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to make him cry! I swear!"

"No," I said, patting Tristan on his back. "It's all right. I know you didn't. Did you…need something?"

"I just had the most wonderful idea!" Leann exclaimed. "But I think we'll have to wait until Tristan stops crying."

"Okay," I said, raising an eyebrow. "Can you tell me what it is?" Leann suddenly looked incredibly excited.

"Have you looked in all of your bags yet?" she asked.

"Not really," I replied, grabbing a spare cloth diaper off the changing table, and putting it under Tristan's head, just in case he spit up. "Just the ones with my clothes and diapers and stuff in them. What are you getting at, Leann?"

"This is so exciting!" she squealed, completely ignoring me. She started to reach down for one of my bags.

"Hey, be careful," I said. "There's no way we're going to be able to get you up if you fall."  
"I have it now," she said, just as Tristan spit up on the cloth diaper. "Oh, perfect!"

"Perfect?" I asked. "He just threw up!"

"Which means," she said. "That he needs a new outfit! Now get over here!" I groaned, and muttered a swear under my breath, but set Tristan in his crib and walked over to Leann.

"Let's get this over with," I said, completely not in the mood what was going on.

However, as soon as I looked in the bag Leann had gotten off the floor, I was stunned. Inside, I saw a variety of pink, blue, and even white clothing. All of the little outfits were obviously intended for a baby. I pulled some of them out of the bag, and looked at them.

"Oh my God," I said in complete awe. "Leann, where did you get these?"

"Keep looking," Leann said excitedly.

"All right," I agreed. I felt my hand brush against a piece of paper at the bottom of the bag, and I took it out.

I looked at the piece of paper, and gasped. The colors were faded, but I could tell for sure that it was a drawing of two children. They looked almost exactly the same, with wispy reddish hair, chocolate brown eyes, and rosy cheeks, but one was wearing a blue outfit, and the other wore pink. The one in blue, obviously a boy, was crying, while the one in pink gnawed angrily on his chubby hand.

"Oh my God," I said again. "This must be one of dad's drawings!" I continued to look at the drawing, still in awe. "Did Aaron and I _really _look that similar as babies?"

"I guess so," Leann said. "You two were _so_ cute! And look at these!" I looked up from the drawing to Leann. She was holding two outfits, identical to the ones I had been looking at.

"No wonder Aaron's such a girl," I said with a laugh. "Look at all the frills on that outfit."

"Well," Leann said. "You're lucky Tristan's so little right now, otherwise he'd be wearing it. Let's find something a _little _more age appropriate."

"Sounds good," I said.

I set the drawing on my bed, and we started to rummage through the baby clothes.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I muttered.

"This one looks good!" Leann exclaimed, holding up a blue onesie with a picture of a Wooly on it.

"It's cute," I said. "But it looks like it's for a bigger baby." I noticed a shirt with blue and white stripes, and a tiny pair of blue pants. "How about this one?"

"That's adorable!" Leann cried. "Let's see how he looks!"

The door opened again, and Leonel and Aaron walked through.

"How come you're taking forever, Aria?" Aaron asked.

"We're playing baby dress-up," I replied. I turned to Leann. "Jeez, Leann. How do you dress up a baby, anyway?"

"It's easy," she replied. "From what I've heard, it's almost like playing with dolls."

"I never played with dolls," I said. "I played with swords. Aaron played with dolls."

"Hey!" Aaron protested. "They were action figures!"

"Whatever," I said. "Anyway, Leann, you've got to help me out on this one."

"Of course," Leann said. "Now, let's get started."

I got Tristan out of his crib, and set him on the changing table. He seemed to be half-asleep.

"He's so sweet," Leann cooed. "Aria, I crown you the champion of baby making."

"Um, thank you?" I said, more than a little freaked out.

"Apparently making the prettiest baby is a contest now," Leonel said, sounding slightly amused.

"In that case," Aaron said. "We're screwed."

"Stop that!" Leann cried. "Lily's going to be beautiful!"

"Okay," I said. "Anger at Aaron plus being anywhere near my kid equals _bad_."

"You're right," Leann said. "Let's get this baby dressed."

It was no lie that I never played with dolls as a kid, but Leann seemed to know exactly what she was doing.

"What is with everyone having a vague idea of how to take care of babies?" I asked.

"There!" Leann exclaimed. I looked down at the changing table, and noticed that Tristan was completely dressed. "It's okay, Aria. You can put on the shoes! Here." She handed me a pair of the tiniest white shoes I had ever seen.

I stood there for a second, unsure of myself.

"Come on, Aria," Leann said encouragingly.

"You've got to learn how to do it eventually," Leonel said.

"He's right," Aaron said. "Some day, there'll be a point where he'll actually need to wear shoes."

"Okay," I said. "I'll give it a shot."

As gently as I could, I opened up the shoe and put one of Tristan's feet inside. I repeated that with the other foot. From there, I figured out that the rest was the same as tying my own shoes. So, I did what I thought was right.

"That wasn't so hard," I said, picking Tristan up from off the table.

"Good job," Leonel said.

"Oh!" Leann squealed. "He's _so _cute!" She practically ran to me, and started talking to Tristan in a voice that was about an octave above her normal one. "Oh, look at the little bitty baby! You are the sweetest little thing! Yes, you are!" Then, she started speaking gibberish.

"Okay," I said, once again freaked out. Leann's motherly instinct was there for sure.

"The poor guy," Leonel said. He shot Leann a jokingly dirty look. "Now look what you've done! He's never going to learn to talk with you around."

"I'm so sorry!" Leann cried. "I didn't mean it, I really didn't!"

"That…was a joke," Leonel said.

"Oh," Leann replied, obviously a little embarrassed.

"It's all right," Aaron said. "Soon, we'll have one of our own to show off." He put a hand on Leann's giant belly.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "Thanks a lot, _dear_. Now you've gone and woken her up."

"Is that a bad thing?" Aaron asked. Leann's eyes suddenly got as wide as dinner plates. She turned around, and started waddling off in the direction of the bathroom. The bathroom door slammed, and Aaron looked confused.

"That," I declared. "Is the famous 'I'm going to pee my pants if I don't get to the nearest toilet' expression."

"It really looked familiar," Aaron said. "Almost like that one time in Barrett's class."

"That's probably because it was the same thing," Leonel said.

"What does this knob on the toilet do?" Leann asked from within the bathroom. "I'm scared to even touch it." Leonel's face turned red as a tomato, obviously trying not to laugh and embarrass Aaron.

"Oh my God," I muttered. "Aaron, please go help your fiancée _flush the toilet_."

"No!" he protested.

"I'm going to pull the knob!" Leann called.

"Thank you for the commentary on your bathroom experience!" I replied. The sound of the flushing toilet was heard, and then rushing water from the sink.

Leann stepped out of the bathroom, looking very proud.

"I figured it out," she declared. "Now, let's get a taxi and go into town."

**Okay, I feel really stupid now. Another filler chapter! Pfft. The _next_ chapter will definitely be about the big-city experience of Aria, Leonel, Aaron, and Leann. I'd also like to apologize for the super abrupt ending.**

**And shame on me for using Leann as an excuse for potty humor! Well, sort of. I figured since Alvarna's a small town, they wouldn't have flush toilets. And Tee Bee Aych, I don't think Leann reads too terribly much.**

**While I'm explaining some stuff, I'd just like to say something: How frigging cute was that part about baby Aria and Aaron in their matching baby suits?! My guess is that they're probably between seven months and one year, because Aria's teething on Aaron's hand! Of course Aaron's the one crying...**

**But seriously...if you thought that part was cute (and you'll need to let me know, of course), then the epilogue I'm planning is going to be so sugary sweet that you might get a stomachache and a cavity.**

**I found out some awesome stuff about Rune Factory Frontier over the weekend. For those of you who play, Brodik and Kross say mild swears, the village girls sing an EPIC song, Candy has her own version of the EPIC song, and the default names for the (adorable) children are Leif and Leona.**

**Oh, and GET EFFING EXCITED FOR RUNE FACTORY 3!!!! They've already launched an official Japanese site. That version is due out sometime this year, but I can't remember what the exact date is. If you want it, go and visit the lovely Ushi no Tane.**


	20. She's an Angry Elf

"Tristan does _not _like the big city experience," I announced, although it was obvious. He had started crying the minute the taxi started to move.

"No kidding," Aaron muttered, his hands over his ears.

"I'll take him," Leonel said. I handed Tristan to him. He rested the baby's tiny head on his shoulder, and started to softly sing him the Earthmate song. As usual, Tristan's crying decreased and finally stopped.

"Why couldn't you have done that sooner?" Leann whispered.

"I try to avoid singing in front of people at all costs," Leonel whispered in reply. He turned to me. "Should I keep him, or do you want to hold him?"

"I'll take him," I whispered. Leonel gently handed Tristan back to me, and I held him close.

We tried to stay quiet for the ride to the bridal shop. Luckily, it wasn't too far away.

"Here we are," Leann said. She gave some money to the taxi driver, who must have been relieved to get rid of us. Aaron, who was sitting closest to the door, hurried out of the buffamoo-drawn taxi to help Leann out of the door. Leonel did the same for me.

The city noise greeted us again, so we brought our voices back up to the normal volume.

"This is so exciting!" Leann exclaimed. "In fact, I can't wait for the _real _wedding!"

"We know," I said.

"Leann," Aaron said. "I know I've asked you this about a half a million times, but please, for my sake, tell me…what color is my outfit?"

"Why do you want to know so much?" Leann asked.

"So I don't freak out in the store," he replied.

"All right," Leann said. "You're going to be wearing an outfit similar to the traditional one your father wore…" Aaron breathed a sigh of relief. "…But instead of having different colors, all of the embellishment will be _pink!_"

"P-_Pink!_" Aaron stammered. "Leann, I thought we talked about this! No violating the code of masculinity!"

"It's really not that much pink," Leann said. "And it's more of a mix of red and pink."

"All right," I said, deciding that a change of subject would be nice. "Leann, I've kind of been wondering about the dress situation."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I was wondering the same thing," Leonel said.

"I still don't know what you're talking about," Leann said.

"Well," I continued. "You don't know when your new addition will be ready to make an appearance, and it'll be sometime around the wedding."

"Oh!" Leann exclaimed. "Don't worry about that. I've got it all planned out. You just wait and see!"

We walked into the bridal shop, and I looked around in awe. There was a sea of white dresses, and they were all beautiful. I had never fantasized about my "dream wedding", as some girls called it, until then.

"Is it just me?" Aaron asked Leonel. "Or are we _really _out of place?"

"Very much so," Leonel replied. "Let's just try to act like we don't care."

"What are you boys talking about?" I asked.

"Look around," Aaron said. "Do you see any other guys in here?" I looked around the store, and saw that Aaron was right.

"No guys," I said. "Well, I guess that makes you special."

"Aria!" Leann exclaimed. I turned away from the two guys for a second, and saw, of course, Leann, but there was an unfamiliar woman standing next to her. She had long blonde hair, tanned skin, and blue eyes. She was wearing a pink dress and a very displeased expression.

"What is it?" I asked, walking closer.

"This is Alana," Leann said, gesturing to the woman. "She's going to help us try on our dresses, since they're kind of hard to put on." I shifted Tristan over to my left side, so I could shake Alana's hand. But for some reason, she didn't move, except for frowning even more than she already was. I moved my hand back, deciding to ignore her unfriendliness.

"This way," Alana said in a monotone voice. She tossed her hair, turned around, and started to lead us away.

"I'll take Tristan," Leonel said, walking up to me.

"Okay," I replied. I gingerly put Tristan in Leonel's arms.

I started to follow Leann and Alana. I noticed something as I saw the back of Alana's head. Poking through her hair on both sides of her head were two points that were about the same color as her skin. I realized then exactly what she was.

"Leann," I whispered through my teeth. "I think this girl is an elf."

"A what?" Leann asked loudly.

"Ssh!" I hissed. "Never mind. You'll see for yourself."

Alana eventually led us through a door, and into a small room, with stalls for changing clothes within it.

"This is where your dresses are," she said in a bored tone of voice. "I'll be happy to assist either of you in any way." Leann suddenly looked like she was going to pee her pants from enthusiasm.

"Oh, Aria!" she exclaimed. "This is _so _exciting! I can't wait to see how you look!"

"I guess," I replied. "I'm actually really curious to see what your dress will look like."

"It's absolutely magnificent," she replied dreamily.

"Well," Alana said, her face looking more displeased than ever. "You can go try them on if you're so excited about the whole thing."

I walked into one of the changing stalls, and was immediately astonished. In front of my eyes, there was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. When Leann had talked to Aaron and said that the pink was more of a red, she wasn't lying. It was almost in between rose and maroon. The cut of the dress was elegant, and when I reached my hand out and touched it, the colors seemed to change. Then, I noticed something else which just about ruined the whole thing: a corset.

I had hated corsets ever since I was a kid. One time, when I was about twelve, Mom had tried to make me wear a corset for a party at Leann's. I was totally against it, but there was really no choice. I ended up passing out from not being able to breathe, but that was probably what I deserved for running around and playing with Roy.

"Leann," I said through my teeth.

"Yes!" she replied energetically.

"There is a _corset _in my changing stall," I said.

"What's wrong with that?" she asked.

"Do you remember that time when I passed out at your house?" I asked.

"I honestly don't," she replied. "I mean, I can hold my liquor, but-"

"No!" I interrupted. "When we were little."

"Oh, yeah!" Leann exclaimed. "That time. What does that have to do with anything?"

"I was wearing a corset," I replied.

"Don't worry," she said. "Nothing bad is going to happen during the wedding. Just put it on, and then come out of there."

I groaned inwardly, and then took another look at the corset. After a second of looking at it, I realized it wasn't like the one I had worn when I was twelve at all. It was actually shaped more like a bathing suit. There were frills and lace all over it, and it was incredibly low-cut. As I took it down from the hanger and examined it more closely, I saw that there was a lot of padding in the bust.

"Jeez, Leann," I said. "Nice taste in undergarments."

"Thanks!" she replied.

"That was a joke," I said. "And there's no way I'm putting this thing on."

"Well, I tried," she said. "But once you look at yourself in the mirror with the whole outfit on, you're going to thank me."

"Okay," I said, not wanting any kind of conflict with her. "Fine. I'll do it."

I quickly undressed and put the corset on. I stepped out of the changing stall, only to see Leann wearing fancy underwear and looking like her happy self, and Alana looking like she wanted to punch someone.

"You look absolutely gorgeous!" Leann squealed. "I can't wait to see what the dress looks like!"

"I can't either," I replied. "If it means covering my legs."

"I'm going to see what _my _dress looks like!" she exclaimed.

As soon as Leann was out of sight, Alana strode over to me and started lacing up my corset, but she did so very roughly.

"This is a difficult job," she said, as though it was her job to complain. "But, I suppose that's what happens when humans have children."

"What's…that supposed to…mean?" I asked, already gasping for air.

"You know what I mean," she replied. "That's what makes me so proud to be an elf sometimes. I have two young children, and I'm just thankful they aren't brats like humans." I immediately pulled away, so the corset strings loosened.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes at her.

"I could tell your baby was part elf when I saw him," she continued, examining her nails. "But you don't look like an elf, and neither does the father."

"That's none of your business," I snapped.

The door to a changing stall opened, and Leann stepped out, looking half-dressed, and incredibly pissed off.

"Where is the manager of this store?" she asked Alana, in a manner that made her sound like a total snob.

"At the front of the store," Alana replied. "But _I _will have to go ask her to come back here, since you're not properly dressed."

"Do you know who I am?" Leann asked, continuing to sound like a very angry rich girl. Alana didn't respond. "_I _am Leann de Sainte-Coquille. Are you familiar with that family name?" Alana just stood there and scowled.

"Fine," she said. "I'll go get the manager." She turned around, and practically stomped out of the changing area.

For a second, I just looked at Leann.

"Where the hell did _that _come from?" I asked.

"What?" she asked.

"The bratty rich girl act!" I exclaimed. "That was amazing!"

"Thanks," she said, taking a little bow. "I think I learned that from my father. But I've only seen it once! It was actually really funny." Her face suddenly fell.

"What is it?" I asked. "Unexpected mood swing?"

"No," she replied. "I just really miss them. And I know they probably won't even be there on the big day."

A woman turned the corner of the changing area. She looked much more pleasant than Alana, and at the same time, much more professional.

"Hi," she said. "I'm the manager, Colette. Remind me to get around to firing Alana from her position. I'd really like to apologize for that. No employee of mine should be acting like that."

"Thank you," Leann said.

"I can see that your corset needs to be laced up, miss," Colette said to me. "Miss de Sainte-Coquille, if you need any more assistance with your dress, please let me know."

"Thank you," Leann said again, and she went back into the changing stall.

I could tell Colette was experienced with lacing up corsets, because she finished pretty quickly.

"Thanks," I said as I tried to breathe and walk into the changing stall at the same time.

"No problem," Colette replied. "I'll be out here just in case you need anything."

I took another look at that beautiful dress. It was almost as though it was too pretty for me to wear. I finally told myself to stop staring at the thing and put it on. Unlike the corset, the dress didn't have a bodice that required lacing, so I was able to pull it on over my head. After smoothing it over a little, I stepped out of my changing stall.

As stunned as I was to see myself in my dress, I was even more stunned at Leann's. Her wedding dress was pure white, of course, and the style had "Leann" written all over it. It looked almost like something out of a fairytale, and somehow, it even managed to make her giant belly look like it wasn't out of place.

"Wow," I said.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"If _I_ think you look amazing," I said. "Then Aaron's going to be floored." Leann blushed.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," she said. "If anything, he'd want to see what's underneath!"

"I don't think so," I said. "Believe it or not, my brother has a fondness for beauty." Without any sort of warning, she hugged me.

"Thank you," she said.

"Hey," I muttered. "What about the no hugging rule?" She let go of me, with a confused expression on her face.

"When did that take effect?" she asked.

"It should have taken effect a long time ago," I said. "But you still haven't answered my question from earlier: what are you going to do if the baby comes before the wedding?"

"I have another dress," she replied. "It's almost exactly the same, so it'll be perfect."

"Oh," I said. I wondered if there was any way someone could have too much money. "Should we go show Leonel and Aaron what we look like?"

"Are you crazy?" Leann asked, her expression turning to one of horror. "We can't be seen in our dresses before the wedding!"

"Oh, yeah," I said. "That superstition or whatever. But that's just you. _I _can go show them."  
"Okay," Leann replied, obviously relieved for whatever reason. "You can go."

I walked out from the changing area, and groaned inwardly, realizing that my shoes completely clashed with the dress. From the end of the hallway, though, I heard an interesting dialogue between Aaron, Leonel, and a voice I recognized as Colette's. I stopped to eavesdrop.

"So, when's the big day?" Colette was asking them.

"It's not too far off," Aaron replied. "About a month and a half."

"That's nice," Colette said. "I'm just happy to see that they're allowing same-sex marriage in…where did you say you were from?" I burst out laughing, and finished the walk down the hallway. I eventually saw Leonel, holding Tristan, and trying not to laugh. Of course, Aaron's face was as red as a tomato.

"I'm so sorry!" Colette exclaimed. "For some reason, I was under the impression that-"

"It's okay," Leonel said. "I get that a lot." I was still laughing, and Leonel looked over at me. I started to walk toward him, and his face changed from being amused to being astonished. I saw a group of people come from the front of the store, and Colette immediately went off to greet them.

"Nice dress," Aaron said to me. "I had faith in Leann not to make the whole wedding pink-themed."

"Yeah," I said. "And luckily for you, the color just about matches your face."

"You really look beautiful," Leonel said to me. I looked down at Tristan, and saw that he didn't seem to be fussy, even though he was awake. "He must think so too."

And it was then that I realized what Leonel had said the day before was right. Sometimes, taking your mind off your troubles wasn't such a bad thing.

**Aaaaand it's another uneventful chapter! The next chapter will be take place mostly, if not entirely, in a hospital. I promise!**

** You guys are lucky you're getting a chapter at all right now, since I had my wisdom teeth pulled on Thursday. Not a pleasant experience, folks, not a pleasant experience. Anyway, from about Thursday to Sunday, I was drugged as rug in a fug. And judging by that last sentence, the Oxycodone is still in my system. XD. What I'm trying to say is that I couldn't write for basically all that time.**

**Just as another heads up, I've finally decided on a plot for the sequel, and the title will be a modified title of a Green Day song off their latest album. The title has a woman's name in it. If anyone can guess what it is, or knows what it is, I shall send them the virtual snack food of their choice via FanFiction PM.**

**And anyone who gets the title of this chapter gets extra points, and possibly the aforementioned prize.**


	21. Just Sleep

Happiness is a really weird thing. Sometimes, it seems like it's right there in front of you, or even inside of you for a little while. And then, it's just snatched away, as though some higher power was only just dangling it in front of your face just to torture you.

It was that way with Arianna. The day before, I went out with my best friends in the world, and not to mention one of my babies. I had cake, tried on a beautiful dress, went sightseeing, had a nice birthday dinner that I shared with my brother, and for the first time, felt my niece kick.

But the next day, I found myself in a bright white room, with bright white lights, and one baby in my arms, and the other in a metal box with tubes running all over her body.

"Aria," Leonel said to me eventually, putting a hand on my shoulder. "She's going to be okay. You…know that, right?"

"You don't sound very sure of yourself," I said.

"Well," he said. "It's a tough thing to think about, let alone be sure about."

Dr. Morris stepped through a pair of double doors. Her hair was covered with a strange-looking cap, and her mouth was covered with a mask.

"We're ready for her now," she told us, lowering the mask from her mouth in order to speak to us more easily. "You both are welcome to come in during the first part."

"What goes on in the first part?" I asked.

"Basically," she explained. "We're going to make her go to sleep for the surgery."

"She won't feel any pain that way," Leonel added.

"They drugged her pretty heavily back in Alvarna," Dr. Morris said. "From what I can tell, anyway. But it's necessary to knock her out for the surgery. The tricky part is making sure she doesn't develop an addiction to…well, just about everything she's on." I decided it would be best not to think about that.

"All right," I said.

Dr. Morris started to push Arianna's cart, and led us through the double doors into a fairly large room, although it seemed smaller because of all the people in it. Like every other room in the hospital, it was pure white. I was really starting to get sick of that color.

"You're going to have to put these on," she said, handing us each one of the caps and one of the masks. Neither of us asked questions, and we took them from her.

"You put yours on," Leonel said. "I'll hold Tristan. Then, we can switch off."

"Okay," I said. I handed Tristan to him, and put the cap on over my hair, and the mask over my mouth. He handed Tristan back to me, and did the same. Despite how awful I was feeling, I couldn't help but laugh a little at the sight of Leonel looking as ridiculous as he did right then.

"Come on," he said to me through his mask. "Let's go see about Arianna."

We walked over to the operating table, where they were just about to take Arianna out of her metal box. Dr. Morris was giving orders.

"Get that ready," she said to one of the nurses. She was pointing to a large machine with a tube and a mask on the end of it. She looked at another nurse. "I'll need that syringe, too." The two nurses nodded, and went over to do their respective jobs.

After some time, Dr. Morris and the nurses were all standing around the operating table. They started to unscrew the top off Arianna's metal box, while one of the nurses held the mask that was attached to the big machine. After the top was unscrewed, I heard Arianna's desperate gasp for air, like she had done before, but the nurse quickly put the mask over her face. Dr. Morris picked her up, while a nurse put the metal box on the floor. Dr. Morris then set Arianna on the operating table.

"You can come see her now," she finally said.

I hesitantly walked through the crowd of nurses, Tristan in my arms, and looked down at Arianna. I could see her chest rise and fall with shallow breathing. She looked so fragile that I was almost afraid to touch her. Leonel stood next to me, and when I looked at his face, I could tell he must have been thinking the same thing. And that he was tired.

I looked down at Tristan, and to my surprise, he was reaching down toward Arianna. The table was so high that it was slightly past my elbows, so he didn't have to reach far. He looked right at her, although I knew that he probably couldn't see too well. With little effort, he touched Arianna's hand.

The entire operating room seemed captivated by Tristan's action. It was absolutely silent.

"In all my years of practice," Dr. Morris said, finally. "I've never seen anything like that." I felt a tear roll down my cheek. Although it was an incredible thing to witness, I had, for some stupid reason, hoped that somehow, their hands touching would somehow cure Arianna. Maybe there was some sort of twin magic. Nothing happened.

I watched as one of the nurses stuck a needle into Arianna's tiny arm, and as her limbs relaxed.

"We should go," Leonel said. "We'd probably just get in the way here."

"Yeah," I said. I decided not to tell him about my stupid thought.

After we left the operating room, we went into a waiting room, where we saw Dorothy.

"Hi, Mom," Leonel said as he sat down in a chair and closed his eyes.

"Hello," Dorothy said. She walked over to him, and started to stroke his hair in a motherly way. "I bet you need to sleep." She turned to me. "Both of you."

"Yeah," I replied. Tristan had kept me up almost all night with his vicious cycle of hunger and dirty diapers. "But where can we go? I don't want to leave the hospital."

"That's already taken care of," Dorothy said. "This hospital has a section for people who either have loved ones who dying, or they just don't want to leave them alone. We got a room for you, just in case you would need it. Unfortunately, there's only one bed." She thought for a second. "Well, I guess it's all right, as long as I'm there."

We went practically all the way across the hospital, until Dorothy said that we were there. By that time, I was so tired that I almost had no idea what was going on. Dorothy opened the door to a room that looked a lot like the one at the inn.

"Will you take care of Tristan while I sleep?" I asked her groggily.

"Of course," Dorothy replied. "Don't worry about a thing." I handed Tristan off to her, and got into bed. I was just about to drift off, when I felt Leonel climb in next to me.

"So," I said. "Why are you so tired?"

"Couldn't sleep," he replied in a soft voice. "I was…too worried. You?"

"Tristan was crying," I replied. "All night." Leonel yawned, and I did the same. I rolled over and opened my eyes, but just barely. He had dark circles under his closed eyes. I kissed him on the forehead, and his eyes fluttered open. He smiled sleepily at me.

"Sleep well," he said.

"I will," I replied. I rolled back over, and felt my eyes start to close on their own. But right before I fell asleep, I felt Leonel snuggle up next to me.

After some time, my eyes fluttered open, and I looked around the room. For some reason, Dorothy was gone. Then, I looked to the side, and saw that Leonel was still sleeping next to me. I took a deep breath, exhaled, and leaned back against the wall. As much as I loved being with Tristan, it was kind of peaceful.

The door suddenly burst open. I realized in just a matter of seconds the two people that were coming into the room by their voices in the doorway.

"Aaron and Leann," I muttered. They had already ruined my feeling of peace just by _entering the room, _and I really didn't want it ruined further. I decided the quickly and quietly to lie back down in bed and pretend I was asleep. I heard the door close, and the footsteps came closer.

"I didn't know they slept together," Aaron said.

"Don't be ridiculous," Leann replied. "Dorothy was in here. She wouldn't have allowed that sort of thing. And besides, they're still fully clothed!" I heard a slapping sound, which I assumed was Aaron's hand hitting his own forehead.

"I…didn't mean it like that, Leann," he said. I heard his footsteps come closer. "Aria, you faker." I opened my eyes, and sat up.

"How did you know?" I asked, honestly surprised.

"First of all," he said. "You were moving around. And second, you weren't moving your jaw in that weird way you always do when you sleep." I had no idea what he was talking about, but I decided to change the subject.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"We thought we'd come see you!" Leann squealed excitedly. Leonel unexpectedly opened his eyes. He looked around the room, obviously a little disoriented, blinked, and smiled.

"I was having a dream about an angry chipsqueek," he said. "But I think I can guess what brought that on." I giggled, Aaron tried not to laugh, and Leann looked confused.

"What kind of a dream is that?" she asked.

"Never mind," Leonel said. "Is everything okay? Where are Mom and the baby?"

"Out in the hall," Aaron said. "Tristan started screaming bloody murder."

"Poor thing," Leann said. "His little face was all red, and even Dorothy can't figure out what's wrong!"

"I'd better go see," I said, starting to get out of bed. Leonel followed.

However, before we could even open the door, it flung open to reveal Dad, his face completely red. He looked as though he had been running.

"Dad!" I exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"Get Tristan," he said between gasps of air. "Leonel, you come too."

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"You've got to go," he said. "Quickly. It's Arianna."

**OMG CLIFFHANGER!!!**

**Apparently, I like to torture you guys. First, I write a really short chapter, then I don't update for weeks (I had an external hard drive crash and went out of town), and then I put in the biggest cliffie I've used since probably sixth grade. I'm currently in eleventh grade.**

**What else? School! Grrr...**

**Oh, wait important story news. Please, please, PUH-LEASE vote in the poll on my profile. It pertains to this story, and this story alone, and the future of Aria's family depends on it. Either that, or post it in a review (although I hope you'll actually REVIEW as well).  
**

**But here's the deal: if the majority of readers vote that they would like a sequel, than so be it. I've been planning to do it anyway. But if the majority votes the opposite, then I will cry. Just kidding. But I _will _be slightly disappointed, and I'll have to find something else to write about.**

**Oh, and congrats to Gabi123 for correctly guessing the Green Day song from which the title of the sequel will come.**

**And if anyone else wants to play a guessing game, here's an easy one: from which song does the title of this chapter come?  
**


	22. My Blue Eyed Lee

**Hey people! Yes, I know what you're thinking: "Don't you usually leave an AN at the _end _of the chapter?" The answer is yes, but I thought I'd just give a heads-up on some of this chapter's content. I don't want anyone to get offended and report me or something. There is mild F-bomb dropping kind of in the middle of this chapter, but there are only three (I'm pretty sure I counted correctly). Even so, if you don't like that sort of thing, don't get all offended, and just remember that the characters are angry.**

With Tristan in my arms, I ran faster than I ever had in my entire life. I didn't care that I was crashing into people, or whether or not anyone was actually following me. I just ran. Finally, I had to stop and catch my breath, but by then, I was close enough to where I needed to be. I stopped to catch my breath, when I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. I looked up, and saw that it was only Mom. Unfortunately for me, she looked kind of angry.

"You shouldn't run like that," she stated. "First of all, you're in a hospital. Second, you're carrying your own child, and third, you gave birth less than a week ago."

"Sorry," I said. "I shouldn't be so stupid. I just wanted to see my baby." Upon hearing those words, Mom's face softened.

"I should be sorry," she replied. "I shouldn't be upset with you at a time like this."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Very shortly after I asked that question, Leonel and Dad came up behind me.

"Jeez," Leonel said, panting. "You took off like a rocket. What's going on?"

"You two…might want to sit down," Dad said. Mom nodded, and bit her lip, as though she had already heard the news, but didn't want to hear it again.

"Let's go into the waiting room," Mom said.

We walked a short distance and into the waiting room. I almost immediately sat down in one of the chairs, and Leonel sat beside me. Tristan had briefly stopped crying, and had fallen asleep, so I was relieved that I would at least have some quiet while I was hearing some really bad news.

Mom and Dad sat down across from us.

"I'm really not sure how to tell you this," Dad said. He was looking down at the floor, like he was trying to avoid making eye contact.

"I'll tell them," Mom said, gently putting her hand on his. She turned to face us. "Arianna had a bad reaction to something. They think she may have been overdosed, or had an allergic reaction. They're not sure which. Since the medications are so strong, and they're in her bloodstream, they said that she may not make it through the night if they can't figure out what's wrong." Starting from the word "overdose", I had started to cry. Eventually, it got to the point where my shoulders were shaking so hard that Dad reached out and took Tristan out of my arms.

I turned my attention to Leonel, since he had been who I could relate to most during that time. But instead of giving me a hug, or comforting me in some way, he just stared at the wall, both his hands in tight fists, and tears running down his face.

"L-Leonel?" I said. But instead of giving any sort of verbal reply, he stormed out of the room, muttering something under his breath. I started to cry even harder. Was he going to abandon me? Mom moved over to my side, and hugged me in her usual gentle way. I could barely control my tears.

Aaron and Leann suddenly burst through the door to the waiting room.

"I saw Leonel on the way out," Aaron said. "Is everything okay?" He caught sight of me. "Oh no." After those words, I lost complete control of myself. Aaron came over, and hugged me as well, and Leann eventually walked over as well.

"Everything is going to be fine," Leann finally said. "Things have a way of…working themselves out." I could see, though, that she was trying hard not to cry as well.

We sat there for a few more minutes like that. I eventually managed to calm down a little.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"She's in an area designated for sick babies," Mom said. "But nobody's allowed inside. You'll only be able to look at her through a big window."

"Can she breathe now?" I asked.

"With some difficulty," Mom replied. "She still needs a machine. But yes, she's capable of breathing on her own now."

"Well," I said. "Maybe there's still a little bit of hope, then." I tried as hard as I could to believe what I was saying, but my mind kept wandering. "I want to see her."

I felt incredibly light-headed when I tried to stand up. It was probably due to dehydration, also known as crying my eyes out. But Dad and Aaron were able to help me up. All six of us, in silence, went down a long hallway, then to the right, then across a different hallway, until I saw a perfectly polished window. I ran right up to it, and scanned the room.

"I don't see her," I said at first. Sadly enough, there were so many sickly babies that it was hard to tell. But then, I caught sight of red hair, and I knew it was her. I noticed a few changes, mainly the lines of stitches across her chest, but that didn't matter. Tristan began howling, and I started to cry for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Do you think…?" Leann started to ask. I knew exactly what she was thinking: does he know that his sister is going to die? Does he know that there's a connection between them that could possibly be severed tonight? Of course, Leann would use smaller words, but it was the same idea.

"I don't know," I replied.

After a while of just standing and looking through that window, I felt the people around me start to move away, probably to sit down. I wasn't sure of how long I stood there, staring through the glass, but I felt that my ankles were getting weak, and that my legs were getting tired. But I didn't move.

I heard hurried footsteps from behind me, and when I turned around, I saw Dorothy, who looked flustered and tired from running.

"I've been looking all over for you," she said. She looked around the room. "Leonel's not with you?"

"No," I replied. "When he heard the bad news, he just kind of stormed off."

"Oh no," Dorothy whispered. "That's never good. I've got to find him!" For some reason, something clicked in my mind.

_What do people do when they want something to be better? _I thought.

"I think I can find him," I said. "Hold Tristan, please." I handed her Tristan, and darted out of the room like a bullet.

When we first were outside the hospital, my mind was only on my kids. But the second time we went, I couldn't help but notice that the area was a little shady. Or at least, it would have been at night. And it sure as hell was. I counted two pubs across the street, and I could have sworn I saw some hookers on the corner. Anyway, the answer to my earlier thought about what people do to make things better, from what I had heard, was to drink. I looked across the street at the two pubs. One appeared to be crowded, so I figured he wasn't there. But the other was practically empty, and I could see why. Through the huge windows, I could see that it was practically dark, but I saw one lone figure sitting, though slouching would have been more accurate, on a stool.

"Idiot," I muttered through my teeth. "I let him out of my sight for an hour, and…ugh!" I was getting _really _mad, madder than I had been in a long time. I crossed the street, and ran for the door to the pub.

"I don't care how bad it tastes," a familiar, but slurred voice said to a suspicious looking bartender. "Gimme some more." The bartender shrugged, and went over to mix something. I just stood there in horror as the bartender brought Leonel his drink, probably some really strong stuff, and he downed almost half of it. I couldn't take it anymore. I marched over to the counter, grabbed Leonel by the collar of his shirt, and practically dragged him outside.

"Ow!" he shouted in protest. "Ah! Jesus! A fuck is wrong wif you, Aria?" I pinned him against the wall of the pub.

"The fuck is wrong with you, Leonel?" I growled, trying my best to mock him, even though I was angrier than a rabid buffalo. Although it was nice to know I hadn't lost any of my arm strength during my pregnancy, I still couldn't believe what was going on.

"I fought I'd feel better," he slurred in reply. "Gaw, you're beau'ful." I let go of him, only to use all my strength to give him a slap across the face. That seemed to wake him up a little.

"You _thought _you'd _feel better_," I muttered. I turned to face him, and started yelling. "You know, the rest of us are going through this, too! You stepped in to help me take care of _our kids, _not go and get wasted as _fuck_ every time one of them so much as fell and _scraped their knee!_" I took a deep breath, since I could feel my face getting hot. "If you want out…you'd better say it now. Then you can hang out with the rest of the dirtbags who abandoned me."

To my surprise, Leonel didn't walk off, or move in any way. He just started to cry.

"I-I'm…s-so sorry," he stammered through his tears. I could tell he was having some trouble talking, since he was drunk _and _crying. "I'm…never gonna do it 'gain." He sniffed and wiped his eyes, but without his hand against the wall to stabilize him, he stumbled. I didn't think I was quite at the point to catch him, so he fell to the ground. He looked up at me, tears in his eyes and a pathetic expression on his face. "I…I…said I want gonna hut you. An I jus did."

I gazed into those blue eyes of his, and knew that he really didn't mean it. It sounded stupid since we were about the same age, but he was just a kid. He didn't know any better. Kind of like I didn't know that drinking something at a party that I didn't bring could potentially be fatal. Besides, behind those tears, and that pathetic expression, I saw the guy I loved. And I knew he was sorry.

The fact that I wasn't saying anything seemed to upset him even more, and he hung his head in shame and started to cry again. He was a sad drunk, that was for sure. I bent over a little, and reached my hand down to him.

"Lee," I said, gently. I had been toying with ideas for what I could call him, but for some reason, that particular name came out of my mouth, even though I hadn't thought of it before.

"Wha?" he responded, quickly looking up at me. I was surprised as hell when he responded to that name. He looked pretty angry, too. But then, he saw my outstretched hand, and grasped it. He had some difficulty standing up, so I decided to give him a little more help.

"There you go," I said. His face suddenly turned pale. "You okay?"

"I…I just..." he started to say, but he cut himself off by running away suddenly, sticking his face into a nearby trash can, and throwing up.

"That was incredibly convenient," I said. "The trash can, I mean. Now you know how I felt just a matter of months ago." I was trying to make a joke to make him feel a little better, but he didn't seem to notice, as he started puking again. I walked over to him, and started to rub his back. "You're fine. Just get all of that shit out of your system." I heard him start to breath heavily, and then cough a few times, and start breathing heavily again. Eventually, he lifted his head back up.

"That was…embarrassing," he said.

"But don't you feel a _little _better?" I asked.

"Kind of," he replied. He looked down at the ground. "We'd better get back to the hospital. I can think of two people who need your attention." I smiled.

"They need yours, too," I replied. I held out my hand, and he took it.

We started to walk back.

"Looks like I can't hold my liquor," he said as we crossed the street.

"Yeah, you think?" I replied. I looked up at his face, and gasped.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Your face," I replied. "Oh, I shouldn't have hit you so hard!"

"I deserved it," he replied.

"Dorothy's going to kill me," I muttered. I stopped right in front of the entrance to the hospital, and gave him a tight hug. "I'd kiss you, but I'd rather not taste puke, especially if it's not my own."

"Whoa," he said. "Take it easy. It's not like you hit me five times or something! Besides, I was being an asshole."

"I guess you're right," I said, letting go of him. As we stepped into the lobby of the hospital, he said something that caught me a little off-guard.

"You know," he commented. "Nobody's ever called me 'Lee' before." I felt my face turn bright red.

"Oh," I said. "I didn't know that. Sorry."

"Don't be," he said. "I…actually kind of like it."

**Okay, I have to say, I haven't written a drunk since forever, so bear with me on that. Hm...trying to think of new stuff to write.**

**Oh, congrats to an anonymous reviewer, MrMissMrs Random for winning the last guessing game. Yes, the answer is "Sleep" by My Chemical Romance.**

**What else...I'm going to estimate about four or five more chapters for this one. And then, the sequel will commence, according to popular vote on my profile.**

**About the title of this chapter: there's no guessing game this time, I just thought it sounded kind of like a love song. Also, Aria mentions his eyes, and gives him the nickname, so it's not completely irrelevant.  
**

**One last thing: I have a new deviantArt account! Even if you're not a member (unlike ChaosMorning and HMFarmForever, who are members), I encourage you to take a look at it. I posted a drawing of pre-pregnancy Aria that I'm really proud of! Next up will be Aaron, Leonel, and Leann. Oh, my useranem is RagunaGranola2332, for those of you who don't care. That...is the type of username that pops up when you're awake at 2 am, and you're thinking about an inside joke between you and a friend. XD**


	23. The Earthmates

When we finally got up to where everyone was, I could tell they had been waiting. And that Mom and Dad looked slightly irritated.

"Where have you been?" Mom demanded, but not too loudly, because Tristan was asleep in her arms. "We've been waiting up here for at least a half hour! Don't you know this part of the city isn't safe at night?"

"Sorry," I said. "We had a little issue that needed clearing up." I saw everyone, as if they had rehearsed, wrinkle or cover their noses.

"What is that _stench_?" Aaron asked.

"It smells like a drunk!" Leann added.

"It smells like my father-in-law," Dad muttered.

"Sorry," Leonel finally said.

Dorothy walked quickly into the room with a newspaper in her hand, but then stopped to hold her nose.

"Dear God," she muttered, obviously trying not to breathe. "Something smells like vomit and hard liquor." Her eyes went over to Leonel, and she gasped and ran over, holding his face in her hands. "Leonel! What happened to your face?"

"Aria had to talk some sense into me," he replied.

"She _what?_" Dorothy cried. I had _never _in a million years heard Dorothy's voice go above a fairly soft volume level, but when it came to her son, things went a little differently.

"Don't get mad at her, Mom," Leonel said. "I was drunk to the point of mild alcohol poisoning." His expression changed to one of fear. I could tell his judgment was still a little off, but from his face alone, he probably thought he was going to get smacked around.

Dorothy suddenly looked enraged. Although Leonel looked more like Barrett, he and Dorothy definitely shared an expression of anger. The newspaper she was holding quickly turned from reading material to a weapon.

"How…dare…you!" she shouted, only interrupting herself by whacking Leonel over the head with the rolled up newspaper. "You could have been killed! And you belonged here anyway _with Aria_!" She gave him a few extra whacks, and Leonel looked absolutely shocked.

"God, Mom," he said, slowly backing away from her. "What's going on? Can't you tell Aria already gave me enough of a punishment?"

"I don't care what Aria did to punish you!" Dorothy continued. "I'm…your…_mother_!" She whacked him three times for each word in that sentence. She paused to take a deep breath. "Most people don't turn to drinking when something terrible happens. Your father didn't, and neither did I…even when we thought we were going to lose _you_."

Aaron and Leann's heads turned toward Leonel faster than lightning, as did mine. Leonel's jaw hung open, and it dawned on me that _he_ hadn't heard of that either. Mom and Dad, however, didn't seem surprised at all, and continued to pass Tristan back and forth between the two of them.

"I…I'm sorry," he said. "I had no idea that-"

"I know," Dorothy interrupted. She gave him a hug. "We should get you a change of clothes. I knew I'd need to bring them for you."

"Y-Yeah," he replied. He still seemed shocked by the news, but then again, anyone would have been. They started to walk away.

When they were fully out of sight, I immediately sat down next to Mom, and Leann and Aaron scooted next to Dad. I knew they had the same question as I did.

"Was that true?" I asked.

"Take your kid," Dad said to me. He passed Tristan to Mom, who then passed him to me. "And I don't think you should be prying into other people's business."

"You're avoiding the question," I said. "What happened?"

"Leonel almost died as a newborn," Mom said.

"Mana!" Dad protested.

"I think she has the right to know," Mom replied. She turned her attention back to me. "It wasn't nearly as serious as what's going on right now with Arianna, but they were pretty close to taking him here." Dad sighed heavily.

"It was the scariest thing the town had seen in a long time," he said, deciding to contribute to the conversation. "He was supposed to be born around the same time as…Orland."

"But Orland was a little late," Mom added. "And of course, Leonel was early."

"The poor thing," Leann sighed.

"But what happened, exactly?" Aaron asked.

"It's really not something people like talking about," Mom replied. "But I learned later that he had some kind of problem with his heart."

"I remember that Dorothy was a nervous wreck," Dad said. "But it was really tough for Barrett, who _still_ doesn't like to show his emotions. But during that week…was the first time I ever saw him cry." Aaron, Leann, and I gasped collectively. The idea of Barrett crying was _just_ that weird.

"But the strangest thing happened," Mom said. "I remember, I was taking you two…" She indicated to Aaron and me. "…To the clinic for your two month checkup. Leonel was there with Dorothy, and he was crying like no baby I'd ever heard in my life. But after he stopped, I asked Dorothy if I could see him. She hadn't let anyone see him, aside from Barrett, Natalie, who was there at the time, and Ray, so I was surprised when she let me look at him, I was more than a little surprised." She paused, and smiled. "He was a beautiful baby, even in his state."

"What was so strange?" I asked. "Besides Dorothy letting you see him, I mean."

"Don't tell them the next part, Mana," Dad pleaded. "We don't want them getting…ideas."

"They've seen just about everything, Kyle," Mom replied. "I don't think one little event is going to make them think they…"

"Go ahead," Dad said, sighing.

Mom cleared her throat.

"I held you two the way I always did," she said. "Aaron, I always held you with my left arm, and Aria was always in my right." She laughed. "I think that's been deeply ingrained in your heads. Look." I looked over at Aaron, and saw that he was closest to Mom's left arm, and that I was closest to her right.

"That's weird," Aaron said.

"Aw!" Leann exclaimed. "So cute! Aaron's still a baby at heart!" She pinched his cheek, and he yelled in protest.

"Shut _up!_" I whispered, pointing to Tristan. He woke up when Dorothy was screaming at Leonel, but had fallen asleep again. "Continue, Mom."

"All right," Mom said. "Anyway, I was holding you two, and to try and comfort Dorothy a bit, I talked to Leonel a bit, and showed you to him, telling him what great friends you were going to be to him. But then, Aria, you started to cry. So, I unwrapped you from your little blanket to see if something was wrong, but instead of continuing to cry, you touched Leonel on his forehead with those chubby little hands you had. Of course, I apologized to Dorothy right away, but she had no objections. She even thanked me as she left."

"Oh my God!" Leann squealed excitedly. "It _must _be fate!"

"But here's where it gets interesting," Mom continued. "I took you home after the checkup – you were both perfectly healthy – and reported back to your father with the news that I finally got to see baby Leonel. But he looked at me in complete shock."

"And I was," Dad added. "I asked if she had heard the news about what happened to him."

"Of course, I had no idea what he was talking about," Mom said. "But then, he told me that Barrett had come by in the hour or so that I was at the clinic. My first thought was that poor baby Leonel had died. But it wasn't that at all. In fact, it was just the opposite."

"What?" Aaron and I asked in unison.

"That's right," Dad said. "Barrett told me that for some reason, Leonel had changed quite a bit after that appointment with Natalie."

"And later," Mom said. "When they took him back to the clinic to see what had happened, I heard that Natalie just about dropped her stethoscope." She paused. "He had recovered. Completely. There were _no _irregularities in his heartbeat at all."

"Wait, Mom," Aaron said. "Are you trying to say that because Aria-"

"I don't know exactly what happened," Mom continued. "For all we know, it could have been a coincidence."

My hands were trembling. I tried to stop because I was holding Tristan, but I couldn't help it. Did I _really _cure Leonel when we were babies? I knew I was an Earthmate and could use magic, but I thought that I had to use the _magic books _in order to do that. Was I really that powerful?

"Aria, you don't look very well at all," Leann commented. "Aaron, you don't either."

"Somebody hold Tristan for me," I said. "Aaron, we need to talk." I set Tristan in Mom's lap, and grabbed Aaron by the arm. I dragged him through a couple of long hallways, until I saw a small chapel.

"Let's go in here," I said, pushing him through the door.

Luckily, the chapel was completely empty.

"Are you out of your mind?" Aaron asked loudly.

"Shut up," I hissed. "This _is _a church, technically."

"Oh, yeah," he said. "Well, I think I know what's on your mind. And I wouldn't try anything stupid."

"But how do you _know?_" I asked. "For all you know, I-"

"Hear me out," he interrupted. "Just because you did it once doesn't mean you can do it again! Maybe Leonel was the _one person _you were destined to make better or something like that." I sighed. "You haven't even so much as looked at a magic book in years. How do you know you can still cast a return spell, let alone fix a pair of lungs?"

"Babies can't read magic books," I replied. "Even Earthmate babies. And besides, it's not like I had magic books to read in the womb! How do you explain the fact that I cured Leonel?"

"I guess you have a really good point," he said. "But here's another possible problem: what if we've lost our abilities as Earthmates?"

"That's impossible," I said. But for some odd reason, I couldn't think of any counterattack to that one.

I sat down in one of the chapel pews, and Aaron sat next to me.

"By the way," Aaron said. "I haven't really had the chance to tell you, but I feel really bad about what's going on. I can't even imagine how you must be feeling."

"Thanks," I said. "Just consider yourselves lucky your baby will be healthy." He smiled slightly.

"Leann's been a nervous wreck," he said. "Of course, she's worried sick about you and Leonel and Arianna." He chuckled quietly. "She's finally started reading the books. It's constantly, 'Oh, what if _this _happens?' or 'Oh, what if _that _goes wrong?' She's so funny like that." He looked down at the floor, and I saw that he was blushing, and that he had this almost stupid-looking smile on his face.

Something hit me, and I started laughing.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I'm such a dumbass," I replied.

"What did you do _this _time?" he asked.

"I made fun of you two for longer than I can remember," I said. He looked at me with a confused expression. "You really love Leann, don't you?" His confused expression instantly changed to one of shock.

"Why else would we be getting married?" he asked. "And why else would we be sticking together the way we do?"

"I just can't believe I've been so stupid," I said, shaking my head.

The door opened, and we both turned around. Leonel was standing in the doorway, wearing fresh clothes. But even though he looked better in terms of clothing, his face looked sad.

"What are you guys doing in there?" he asked tiredly. "I can't imagine you're praying."

"We're not," Aaron replied.

"What's the matter?" I asked, getting up and walking toward him.

As I gave him a hug, I looked up at his face. He started to wrap his arms around me, and his eyes started to fill with tears.

"It's Arianna again," he replied, looking down at me. "And…and this time…they want us to say…goodbye."

**OHSHITCLIFFHANGER!**

**This is the chapter where I thought it would be great to really introduce Aria and Aaron's roles as Earthmates. This will become crucial later on. But will Aria be able to save her baby?**

**I'm going to do some more shameless advertising for my new dA. GO THERE NOW, ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE CHARACTERS LOOK LIKE! Illustrations will come later!**

**Reviews, por favor. Most of the people who have read have been little slackers. Except for a select few. You know who you are.  
**


	24. Love Has a Melody

I knew that was my chance.

"Leonel," I said. "This isn't the time! Where is she?" He suddenly looked confused, and angry.

"This isn't the time?" he repeated, wiping his eyes. "What the hell's gotten into you? Arianna's going to d-"

"Just take me to where she is!" I demanded.

"She thinks she can cure her," Aaron explained.

"What?!" Leonel shouted. "Are you insane?"

"That's what I said," Aaron muttered.

"I'm serious!" I protested. I turned back to Leonel. "Where is she?"

"They moved her," Leonel replied, his voice still sounding sad. "It's a room almost right next to where we were before. Aria, are you…sure about this?"

I looked straight into his eyes.

"If I could cure you," I said. "Then I think I can cure her." His expression changed again, and from that, I knew that Dorothy had told him about our childhood.

"All right," he said, his expression now looking determined. "Let's go."

We quickly walked back in the direction of the place where the sick babies were kept. Mom, Dad, and Leann were still there with Tristan, and Dorothy had joined them. I took Tristan from Mom.

"I don't need any moral support," I said. "At least, I don't need it yet." I left the four of them with unanswered questions and confused expressions.

There was a nurse at the entrance to the room.

"Number, please," she said in a monotone voice.

"Number?" I asked. "The kids have numbers?"

"I'm coming with you!" a voice cried out from behind us. We all turned and saw that it was Leann.

"Whoa, back up," I said. "Leann, you don't even know what's in here in terms of sickness."

"She's right," Leonel said.

"I don't care!" Leann protested. "I'm coming with you!"

"Leann…" Aaron started to coax.

"Please," she said. Aaron seemed to think for a second.

"Fine," he said. "But don't touch anything." The nurse at the door cleared her throat.

"Number, please," she said again.

"Oh, for Christ's sake," he muttered. He brought his voice up to normal volume. "617057." The nurse checked something on her clipboard.

"Proceed," she said.

We all stepped inside the room. I was surprised, since there were still a lot of babies, and the din of crying was overwhelming.

"The poor things," Leann murmured. "I think I'm going to cry, too."

"Everyone, start looking," I said. We split up, and looked through the room to try and find Arianna.

"I found her," Aaron finally said. He was standing next to a glass bassinet in one of the corners of the room. Everyone started to gather around, and I walked as quickly as I could to join them.

For a minute, I just looked down at her. Her chest seemed to be rising and falling more steadily, but her skin had changed, and not just from the stitches. Her skin, instead of being slightly blue, had now turned practically white. It was as though she was already dead.

"Aria," Aaron said, shaking my shoulder. "Are you okay?" I remembered what I was supposed to be doing. But I was hesitant to do it. She just seemed too fragile.

"Don't be scared," Leann said.

I shifted Tristan to my left side. With my other hand, I slowly started to lower it onto Arianna's forehead. I closed my eyes, silently praying that whatever magic I used as a baby would work. As my hand touched her freezing cold forehead, I expected something amazing to happen. I expected some sort of power to surge through me, and maybe a flash of light or something.

Nothing happened.

I started stammering. I couldn't believe what had happened. I had put my whole heart into this so-called "ability" to heal, that I hadn't even considered that I couldn't have done it. At that point, I wasn't sure whether to cry or just stand there. I subconsciously chose to do the second.

"Aria, I-" Leonel started to say.

"Why didn't it work?" I muttered to myself. "Why?"

"I…don't know," he replied.

I looked at him, and then at Aaron and Leann, and down at Tristan, and finally, Arianna. I couldn't stop staring at her. I'd let her down, and in a way, I had also let down Tristan. I couldn't think of any words other than what we had originally come there to say.

"G-Goodbye," I stammered, trying not to break down. I leaned slowly down, and gave her the smallest kiss on her forehead.

I didn't want to leave, but I knew it was the time. There was nothing that could be done.

We slowly walked out of that room, and I felt like there was nothing left in the world for me to care about. But then, I looked down at Tristan, and I mentally slapped myself for thinking something so stupid and selfish. He was still my baby, and I loved him. Then, I looked over at Leonel, and thought of how he had supported me, with just one minor slip-up. I looked at Leann and Aaron, and thought of their support as well. And as we walked back toward Mom, Dad, and Dorothy, I realized how much support they had given me as well, and what loving grandparents they would be to Tristan.

I _did _have something to care about. I had a lot of things, or people, rather, who loved me. And I loved them all back.

"I'm so sorry, Aria," Mom said, giving me a hug. Dad joined in.

"She'll be in a better place," he said. "I'm sure of it."

I sat down in one of the chairs that faced the window where everyone could see the babies, and stared. Although I couldn't see Arianna too well from that angle, I knew she was there.

Tristan began to cry.

"He must be hungry," I said. I started to undo my shirt, and Dorothy rummaged through her bag and handed me a blanket. "Thanks." I covered myself with the blanket, and began to feed Tristan. The crowd around me quickly dispersed. Leonel was the only one left by my side.

"It's going to be tough," he said.

"It already has been," I replied. "I think it's just going to get tougher as it goes along." I gasped slightly, as I realized something.

"What?" Leonel asked. "Has he grown teeth already?" I laughed a little.

"No," I said. "It's not like that. It's actually kind of…stupid."  
"Try me," he said.

"Well," I said. "Back there, in that room with all the babies…it just hit me. That was the first time, unless you count kicking, that I had even touched her."

"That's not stupid at all," he said. I rested my head on his shoulder.

"I'm so scared, Lee," I said. "I mean, I don't know what it's going to be like without her. I feel like I don't even know her." I paused. "Imagine what Tristan will feel like when he's older. What if he thinks it's his fault?"

"You're thinking too far ahead," he said. "It's best to cross that bridge when we come to it."

When I felt that Tristan was finished up, I handed him to Leonel and fixed my shirt.

"He's falling asleep," Leonel said. "The little guy likes to eat, that's for sure."

"Yeah," I replied.

"By the way," he said. "I never got a chance to thank you for making me better all that time ago."

"Maybe you did," I replied. "Maybe we just can't remember that far back." He laughed. "What? Babies do have a universal language at that age. That's what Leann told me, anyway."

"No," he said. "It's just…it was my heart you fixed." He looked straight at me with those gorgeous blue eyes. "No wonder it's always belonged to you." I smiled.

At that exact moment, Aaron, Leann, Dad, Mom, and Dorothy rounded the corner and sat down in some of the lined-up chairs. We all knew it was getting close to the end.

I looked through the window.

"Tristan hasn't had a chance to say goodbye yet," I said, getting up from my chair. Leonel followed me, and we stood right up against that window. Of course, Tristan began to cry.

"I'll take him," Leonel said. I handed Tristan to him, and continued to stare through the window.

I heard Leonel begin to hum the melody of the Earthmate song. Over the course of those few days, I was able to learn the whole thing, since it was a fairly short song. I began to sing along, although I was staring through that window at Arianna. Tears began to fall from my eyes.

But to my surprise, I heard someone from behind me join in. I turned around and saw that Dad was standing there, softly singing the song along with us. I shouldn't have been surprised at all. I continued to sing.

I heard more voices join in behind me, but without the words. I assumed that it was Aaron, Leann, Mom, and Dorothy, but I didn't take my eyes off Arianna.

The song ended. But what happened next was the most surprising event of all. Although the room was incredibly well-lit, I could have sworn I saw a small beam of light collecting over Arianna's glass bassinet. At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but then, the light started to grow. I realized what the light was.

"Runes?" I muttered, more than a little confused. I turned around. "What's going on?" Instead of getting an answer, I saw that everyone was staring straight ahead. Leonel lifted his index finger, and pointed through the window.

"L-Look," he stammered.

I turned around, and gasped. The cluster of runes had gotten unbelievably huge, and it was pouring straight into Arianna's chest.

"Oh my God," I whispered. I started to run for the entrance to that room, and luckily, the nurse at the door was staring at the rune cluster. I raced right past her, and to Arianna's side. The rune cluster was starting to get smaller and smaller, and eventually, it disappeared completely. Arianna continued to lie motionless in the bassinet, and I just stared. Her stitches had disappeared, and there was no sign of scarring.

Suddenly, she opened her tiny mouth and coughed. Her eyes opened, and she looked around. Her skin was also restored to a normal, healthy color. I couldn't contain my excitement, and without thinking, I picked her up and held her close. I started to cry, but that time, they were tears of joy.

Everyone else had come running into the room as well, and they crowded around. Some were crying, some were laughing, some were hugging me, or doing any number of those things at once.

I didn't exactly know exactly what happened, but I was certain of one thing: my baby was cured, and it wasn't due to the song itself. It was because of the love we had put into it.

**And it seems the readers have gotten what they want. Yay!**

**Don't worry, though. We're far from over. I'm guessing about two to three more actual chapters, and one epilogue. And I'm sorry for taking forever to update. I don't know what's been wrong with me.  
**

**Reviews, NOW! You guys have been slacking off!**

**Hm...maybe I should be more polite...  
**


	25. Life Is Strange

**Just a warning. There is a character death in this chapter. I forgot to put the warning in the last chapter, so thanks to Gabi123 for suggesting that I put it here.**

The ride back to Alvarna was interesting, and my room was packed for the entire first day of the trip. Everyone wanted to see, as Dorothy called her, "the miracle baby". But by the second day, a lot of the excitement had died down, and I had some peace.

"Is it just me, or has Arianna grown a lot?" I asked Leonel a few hours after we left.

"I don't think it's just you," he replied. "She's almost the same size as Tristan now."

"Yeah," I said, laughing slightly as I looked down at the two sleeping babies, Tristan in Leonel's arms and Arianna in mine.

They had both just been fed, which explained their sleepiness. It was amazing how much the two of them looked alike, and we always thought it was funny whenever they looked at each other. Tristan always got a confused expression, and batted his hand in front of Arianna's face.

Leann and Aaron came into the room, not bothering to knock as usual.

"How's everyone d-?" Leann started to ask loudly.

"_Sssh!_" Leonel and I hissed.

"Oh," she whispered. "Sorry!"

Leonel and I, sensing that they were both sleeping soundly enough, put Tristan and Arianna in their cribs.

"How are they doing?" Aaron asked, sitting down.

"Better," I replied. "Both of them."

"Obviously," Leann commented. "Aaron, did you catch sight of Arianna? She's gotten so big!"

"I did," he replied. "I just thought I should ask."

"They've both been eating like crazy," I said. "My…never mind."

"What?" Aaron asked.

"No," I replied with mock sternness. "You're my brother. I'm not telling you!"

"I want to know," Leann replied. "I'm going to be breastfeeding."

"Fine," I replied with a sigh. "My boobs hurt like crazy! I feel like they're going to fall off! And I've been tired all the time. I mean, I was tired enough with Tristan, but imagine having _two!_"

"Did _not _need to hear that," Aaron muttered.

"Well," I said. "Leann did."

"I'm scared!" Leann cried. "I don't want them to fall off!" She gasped. "What if they explode? They've been growing at an alarming rate." While she was distracted, I saw Aaron quickly glance over at her.

"Perv alert," I said to Leann.

"Where?" she asked as Aaron glanced over at her again.

"Never mind," I said. I decided to change the subject. "Sick of being pregnant yet?"

"Not really," Leann replied. She gestured to her stomach. "She makes a very nice table, actually. I had a cup of tea up on there the other day, and it stayed pretty well."

"Except when she kicked," Aaron said.

"I wouldn't call that a nice table," Leonel said. "I'd call that stained clothing and lack of tea."

"But nothing is without its flaws," Leann replied.  
"Except for using a baby bump as a coffee table," I commented.

"It was _tea!_" Leann protested. We all had to try to suppress laughter.

I heard one of the twins start crying, and I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks, Leann," I said.

"Any time!" she replied. "Wait…why are you thanking me?"

"No reason," I lied, making my way over to the two cribs. I honestly had nothing else to say to that. I peered into both cribs. "It's Tristan."

"Of course," Leonel said. When Tristan was first born, he was quiet and well-behaved, but in less than a week, he had managed to develop a totally different personality: loud and hungry. Arianna, from what we could tell, had taken on the personality of the quiet one.

I lifted Tristan out of the crib, and immediately noticed a bad smell.  
"Looks like someone took a crap in his diaper," I announced. I looked down at Tristan, and smiled. "Hey, maybe instead of shitting your pants you could learn some potty training." I took him over to the changing table, and started the process.

"Don't you realize that his head is like a sponge?" Aaron asked jokingly. "His first word is going to be some kind of obscenity at this rate."

"I doubt it," I replied. "I really don't think he can understand what I'm saying. It's more in the tone of voice."

"How would you know anything about it?" he asked.

"I don't," I replied. I finished the last bit of the diaper change, and held Tristan up to my eye level. "Done. Are you going to go back to sleepy now?" I kissed him on the forehead. "Let's put you in your crib." I set him down in his crib, and turned around, only to see that Aaron and Leann were gawking in disbelief at me. "What?"

"Since when do you act like _that_?" Leann asked. "All lovey-dovey…to anyone?"

"Since I've got hormones coming out the wazoo," I replied. "Oh yeah, and since I_ love my kids._"

"Good point," Leann said. She seemed to go into deep thought over that.

"Yeah, seriously," Leonel said. "Aria's capable of love, for crying out loud." I laughed.

"You ought to know," I replied.

"Good God," Aaron muttered. "You two and your fluffy romance."

"I think you two," I said, pointing to him and Leann. "Have had enough of that for the rest of your lives. And not to mention all the times you went out in the middle of the night and had sex behind the outhouse."

"Hey!" Leann protested. "That was only _once!_" Aaron's face turned bright red.

"Uh, Leann," I said. "I was…making that up. And I'm scarred for life."

"And just for future reference," Leonel added. "You're supposed to deny that kind of thing."

"Okay, virgin boy," Aaron replied.

"I don't want to get into this," Leonel said exasperatedly.

"Wait," Leann said. "I'm confused. Aria, how did you make that up if it actually happened?"

"Never mind," I said. "We can drop this at any time, guys." I heard one of the twins cooing from their crib. "And…possibly not wake up my kids."

"Speaking of that," Leann said. "Where's the bathroom again?"

"Come on," Aaron said. He helped her up, and they started to walk toward the direction of the bathroom.

As soon as we were sure they had left, Leonel and I almost simultaneously leaned back in our chairs and sighed with exhaustion.

"Being a dad wears you out," he said.

"Ha," I replied. "Try being a mom."

"We should be home soon," he said, changing the subject. "Really soon."

"That should be interesting," I said, sitting back up. "We'll be seeing everyone who's been giving us crap over the past several months. Home sweet home."

"Don't think that way," he said, lifting his head back up. "There are also the people there that have supported us. Even Cecilia and Rosalind, who have dumbass kids, have been pretty nice to us."

"I wonder what's going to happen with Leann," I said. "As long as Herman's alive, Leann isn't going to be able to regularly see her parents." I sighed. "Even with all the fancy stuff she's got for it, her wedding's going to suck if she can't even see her mom and dad."

"Who knows," Leonel said. "Maybe old Herman will have a change of heart."

Leann and Aaron came barging into the room, but that time, they looked more excited.

"I can see Alvarna!" Leann squealed.

"Really?" I asked. "We're that close?"

"Look out the window," Aaron said. "We're taking a shortcut through the Padova Mountains."

"Isn't that dangerous?" I asked.

"I would think so," Aaron replied.

"Well," I said. "Hope for the best, everyone."

Suddenly, the carriage stopped.

"What's going on?" Leann asked.

"I was just wondering the same thing," Aaron said.

"I'm scared," Leann whimpered. There was a blood-curdling shriek from the next room, and Leann did the same as she pointed out the window. I quickly turned around, and saw that there was an orc viking trying to get inside.

"Oh, damn," I muttered. "_These _guys?"

Dad came running into the room, a zweihander in his hands.

"Aaron," Dad said. "At the front of the carriage, there's a cabinet of weapons. Go get whatever you can get your hands on, and hurry!"

"Okay," Aaron said.

"What about me?" I asked.

"Aria," Dad said sternly. "We don't have time for this. You shouldn't be fighting in your condition. Stay put." He left the room, and Aaron took off.

I went over to the window. The huge orc viking seemed to be distracted by something, and had walked off to go stare at a giant block of ice. I turned around to see that Leonel seemed perfectly calm, and Leann was shaking like a leaf.  
"Don't worry," I said to her. "They're stupid as hell and have short attention spans." I turned to the window again, and saw that Dad and Aaron had begun to fight the stupid monsters, but more of them were coming over to try and attack them. I was still really pissed off that I wasn't out there fighting with them.

"Do you think I should go out there?" Leonel asked.

"Not at all," I replied. "No offense, but I've never seen you fight, and I'd prefer it if you didn't get killed."

"Just thought I'd offer," he replied. I continued to watch the battle, and the number of orcs was getting bigger and bigger.

"Screw it," I muttered. "I'm going out there." Before anyone could stop me, I started running for the front of the carriage.

The only weapons there were for beginners, but they had to do. I grabbed a claymore and ran outside into the cold. I started stabbing monsters left and right, and Dad everntually caught sight of me.

"Aria!" he shouted. "Go _inside!_"

"No!" I protested as I lopped off one of the orcs' heads. Its last action was slashing my leg.

"Aaron!" Dad called. "Get that gate!" The number of monsters started to diminish as they were sent back to the Forest of Beginnings.

"A little busy!" Aaron replied, stabbing an orc in the gut. I groaned, and ran over to the gate. I started whacking it like there was no tomorrow. I occasionally turned my head to check and see that I wasn't getting attacked from behind. Eventually, the gate disappeared, and Dad killed the last orc viking.

Dad and Aaron started breathing heavily from the exertion of the fighting.

"See?" I asked. "You guys need me."

"You…" Aaron said, in between breaths. "Are a dumbass."

"Let's go inside," Dad said.

We went inside the carriage, and everyone was crowded by the door, even Tristan and Arianna were in Leonel's arms.

"Dear God, Kyle," Mom said. She gave Dad a huge hug.

"Aaron!" Leann shrieked. "You're bleeding! Somebody help!"

"Why don't you take a look at Aria?" Aaron said to her.

"Jeez, Aria," Leonel said. "Haven't you already lost enough blood in the past week?" I looked down, and saw that the orc viking had done quite a number on the front of my thigh.

"No wonder it felt so numb," I muttered. "Damned monsters."

"That's going to need to be bandaged up regularly," Dorothy said, rummaging through her bag. "I'll get started on that. Any deeper, and you would need stitches." She started to walk back toward my room, and I followed her.

"I'll come with," Leonel said.

"No, honey," Dorothy replied. "She has to take her pants off. You stay here." Leonel blushed, and I laughed as I followed Dorothy into my room to bandage up my wound.

The rest of the ride home was fairly uneventful, and Dorothy even managed to change my bandage twice. Eventually, we reached the border of Alvarna, and soon after, we stopped in front of the school.

We left the carriage, and Dad tipped the driver. I walked around the campus with Arianna sleeping in my arms, but I noticed something strange about the usually crowded area. It was midday, which was usually lunch time, and it was a school day, but nobody was outside. The place was empty. Everyone else seemed to catch on.

"Where is everyone?" Leonel asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "I was just thinking the same thing."

"Barrett was supposed to meet us here," Dorothy said. "But he's not here, and I don't think we're early."

As if on cue, Barrett came up the pathway to the school. He had a solemn expression on his face, and he was dressed in all black.

"Barrett!" Dorothy cried. She threw her arms around him.

"Hello, dear," he said, returning the hug, although he didn't seem his usual self. "I have to speak with Leann."

I realized then _exactly _why Barrett seemed off, and why he was wearing all black.

_A funeral, _I thought.

"Leann," Barrett said. "I'm really sorry to tell you this, but your grandfather has passed on."

I expected Leann's face to light up. I expected her to twirl around, and declare how happy she was that she would be able to see her parents again. But instead, she broke down and cried.

I thought of Herman, who was a glutton, and that he didn't care about anything but family honor, to the point that he would cast out his own granddaughter. And yet, Leann was _crying_ over his death!

I wasn't sure what to think, other than "life is strange".

**I wasn't planning on writing the fight scene, but I came up with it during English class today. I tried to come up with something like what I know of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in terms of a slightly graphic fight scene.**

**And then of course, Aaron and Leann need to ignore their animal instincts. I kind of LOLed while writing that dialogue. But I'm about five, so...  
**

**I bet I scared you all with the character death warning, huh?**

**As a hint, the next chapter does not involve a wedding. That wasn't a very good hint, but oh well...**

**I needz reviewz, puh-leaze.  
**


	26. Mending Relationships

By summertime, Mom and Dad decided I should go back to school, but only for half days. After all, they could only take care of a pair of screaming infants for so long. Grandpa Douglas also sometimes came over after he closed up after he closed up shop for the day.

Leann was also reunited with Max and Julia. She was staying with them at the manor, and would do so until the wedding. Aaron visited all the time, of course.

The first day back to school, Leonel, Aaron, Leann, and I all walked in together. I got exactly what I expected.

"Look at how fat Aria's gotten!" Cammy shouted.

"Yeah!" Serena added. "And Leann's rounder than that globe on Barrett's desk!" Orland, however, didn't say a thing. My guess was that he didn't tell his little girlfriends about getting his ass handed to him by Leonel. And for some reason, Sera wasn't at school that day.

Luckily, Barrett put a stop to it.

"You two are asking for detention," Barrett told them. He pointed to us. "The four of you can take your seats."

I could barely pay attention during class, even though it was a half day for me. Even when we went to do some practice in the workshop, I was too distracted since I was thinking about my kids.

"Aria," Leonel said.

"Huh?" I asked, snapping out of it.

"That bread you're cooking is about to catch fire," he replied, laughing slightly. I looked down at the blackened, smoking bread in the oven.

"Oh, crap!" I cried. I quickly opened the oven, and coughed as the smoke went straight to my face. Leonel laughed. "What's so funny?"

"I tried not to laugh," he said. "I really did." He gave me a hug. "I'm sorry."

"Hey," Barrett's voice said from behind us. "Less hugging, more work."

Luckily, class ended, and Barrett let me go home, and let the rest of the class go to lunch. I practically ran home, taking the shortcut, and arrived there in less than five minutes. Dad was working in the field, sweating as usual.

"Hi!" I called out.

"Hi!" he replied. "Your grandpa's here. He also brought something for you and the twins."

"All right," I said. "I'll be inside if you need me."

I went inside the house, and straight up to the new extension. Sure enough, Mom and Grandpa Douglas were in the nursery, bottle-feeding Tristan and Arianna.

"Hey," I said.

"Hi, Aria," Mom replied. She laughed, and looked down at Tristan. "I haven't done this in quite some time."

"And I haven't in even longer," Grandpa Douglas declared. "Almost thought I might've forgotten how to feed babies like this. Aria, did ya see my present?"

"Not yet," I replied. "But Dad told me about it."

"Go in your room, kiddo!" he exclaimed. "It belonged to your mother, and I fixed it all up."

"Okay," I said.

I started to walk to my room, wondering what the present could possibly be. When I finally got there, I gasped. It was a beautiful baby stroller. It was made out of perfectly polished wood, and the inside was lined with the softest fabric I had ever felt. One side was pink, and the other side was blue, and there was a little division in the middle. It had obviously been designed for twins.

"Like it?" Grandpa Douglas said from behind me.

"It's gorgeous!" I replied, giving him a big hug. "This was really Mom's?"

"Yep," he replied. He gestured to the pink side. "An' this was exactly where she sat, too. The other side was for her brother, but he died right after he came out, along with my wife. I'm such a big softie, I didn't have the heart to take out that side of the stroller." He paused, and smiled at me. "But enough of my sad stories. I replaced the fabric, and fixed it up so it's all stable now. I hope you get good use out of it."

"Thank you," I replied. "Thank you so much."

"Why don't you go try it out?" he asked me. "Take 'em on a walk. Mana always liked it. Lookin' around at Alvarna. I'll help by getting it down the stairs an' out front."

"Okay," I replied. "I'll go right now. Thanks again!" I darted off toward the nursery.

"What did you think?" Mom asked me as she put Tristan in his crib.

"I love it," I replied. "I'm actually going to test it out right now."

"All right," Mom said. "Just be careful going down the stairs."

"Okay," I replied.

I got Tristan and Arianna out of their cribs, and carefully walked down the stairs to the front of the house. I walked out the door, and put them each into their section of the stroller. I strapped them in, talking to them the whole time. There was a little cover that could be pulled over the top to protect them from the sun, and I made use of it. After I had double-checked to make sure everything was secure, I started to push the stroller.

I went past the North Square, and in front of the school. Everyone had gone back inside for class, and it was peaceful. I decided to stop under one of the cherry trees and enjoy the peace. It was shady under the tree, so I pulled the stroller cover back so I could check and see how the twins were doing. I smiled as I saw that they had both fallen asleep. I looked down at them for some time. Then, I looked up at the cherry tree. The petals were falling, and I already had quite a few in my hair. I looked at Tristan and Arianna again. The inside of the stroller was covered in the petals, and some had even landed on the sleeping babies.

"If an artist wanted to paint a picture," I said. "You two would be the perfect subject." A petal landed right on Arianna's nose, and she sneezed and woke up. Her confused expression was priceless.

I decided it was time to go back home, but that it would be better to take the long way. I went down the street to the west end of town. I passed in front of the inn, and then in front of the manor. To my surprise, Cecilia was standing right in front, as opposed to working inside.

"Hello, Aria," she said.

"Hi," I replied, stopping to greet her.

"We haven't talked in some time," she said.

"I know," I replied. "It's been a while." She sighed.

"I never got a chance to really say sorry to you," she said quietly.

"What?" I asked, my eyes widening. "You don't need to be sorry for anything! It's all Orland, no offense to you."

"None taken," she replied. "He needs a good kick in the pants. But…I raised him, and I always hoped he would turn out better than this." She looked at the covered stroller. "Do you mind if I…?"

"Not at all," I interrupted. "Technically, you're their grandmother." I pulled the cover off the top of the stroller.

Cecilia's eyes widened. For a second, it almost seemed as though she didn't know what to say.

"They're beautiful," she said. "What did you end up naming them?"

"Tristan and Arianna," I replied.

"I always knew you were smart," she replied, laughing a little. "They look so much like you. But I'd recognize those eyes anywhere. And the ears are kind of a giveaway as well."

"I know," I replied. "But honestly, that doesn't make me love them any less."

"You're already a great mother," she said, and then sighed. "I have to go back to work now, but I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you," I said. "You too."

I continued walking, past de Sainte-Coquille park, and I stopped in front of the clinic. Rosalind, for some reason, was outside, pacing and looking worried. When she caught sight of me, though, she came right up to me.

"Aria," she said. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"Sure," I replied, although I had no idea of what she was going to ask me.

"It's Sera," she said. "She's been sick, and she said…she wants to talk to you."

"Me?" I asked. "Why me?"

"I don't know," Rosalind replied. "I didn't think to ask." She paused. "Will you please do it? I know she and Serena have been awful to you, but-"

"It's fine," I said. "But if she's sick, I can't have Tristan and Arianna around. Would you mind staying with them?"

"Of course not," she said.

"Okay," I said. I took off to go to the second floor of the clinic.

Sera, sure enough, was seated on her bed, staring at the wall.

"I've seen that look before," I said. Sera was startled, but quickly regained her composure after seeing it was just me.

"W-Where have you seen it?" she asked.

"When I got into a fight with Leonel," I replied. "It was before he told me he spiked the punch at Leann's party. He felt really guilty about it. He was staring at the wall with this pitiful expression."

"Mom sent you up here, didn't she?" Sera asked.

"She said you had been asking for me," I pointed out.

Sera took a deep breath.

"I just feel…bad," she replied. "I've been examining my conscience a lot lately. It's the only thing I _can _do. I've been too depressed to read or anything like that." She blinked, obviously trying to hold back tears. "And…I've been thinking that maybe…what happened to your baby…was m-my fault…because I gave you so much crap early on." She started to cry, and I put a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't think that's true," I said. "Nobody really knows about what happened to Arianna, but she's better now, and that's the important thing."

"We were friends," she sobbed. "And I just…threw that away, because my s-sister told me…"

"It's fine," I said. "It's all behind us now." She looked up at me.

"Really?" she asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Well, yeah," I said. "Why not?"

"Okay," she said. I started to get up and leave. "Aria?"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Thank you," she said. I just smiled at her.

As I walked home with the stroller, I smiled to myself. I hadn't planned to make amends with Sera, or pay a visit to Cecilia, but that whole walk was very worthwhile.

**Aww.**

**I know people have been asking about whether Ceci would get involved with being a grandmother to the twins, and that will be explained in the epilogue. But for now, I thought it would be cute to just include a little moment between them.**

**I actually finished this about nine hours ago (about one in the morning), but I didn't feel like it for some reason.**

**And I hadn't even thought of including that stroller scene, but it kind of just came to me. Besides, it was a bit of a plot-hole filler. There was nothing mentioned before about a stroller, and Aria needed to take a walk with the twins for this chapter to work.**

**And I can promise you, the next chapter will be the wedding. It's going to be great, so stay tuned! After that, there will be an epilogue, and finally, the sequel.  
**


	27. Family

It was the day of the wedding.

I, along with Julia, had to stay in a little room at the back of the church and help Leann get dressed, as well as make sure everything about her appearance was perfect. Aaron, Leonel, and Dad were in a separate section of the church, and I honestly had no idea of what they were doing. Mom was sitting in the front of the church with Tristan and Arianna, and Max was at the back of the church, waiting to walk Leann down the aisle and "give her away", as Mom put it. I didn't really know what that meant, but I assumed it was something really important. I was wearing my beautiful dress, and Julia had done my hair and makeup as well. I could scarcely believe how we all looked.

"You've grown quite a bit, dear," Julia was saying as she smoothed Leann's dress out. "This dress has gotten really tight on you. I don't mean that you're fat. You've just got a big baby in there."

"Well," Leann said. "At least that means she's healthy." She sighed. "I'm so scared, Mom. My heart is pounding."

"Just relax," Julia said. "You're going to be fine."

I was feeling a little stir crazy from sitting in that small room for so much time. I could hear the sound of more and more people coming into the church, and I decided to go see.

"I'm going outside," I said.

"You should probably stay in here," Julia said. "If you want to see all the excitement, you can peek through the door. But just open it a little."

"All right," I said.

I opened the door just enough so I could see outside. Cecilia and Jake were just coming into the church, and Orland followed shortly after. He looked like a mess. Cecilia turned around.

"Orland," she said sternly. "I thought I told you to comb your hair."

"Who cares?" he asked. "Isn't all the attention going to be on preggers?"

"Show some respect," Jake said. "Even if she _is _a human."

"Jake," Cecilia said. "You're not helping."

"I don't even want to be here," Orland muttered in a barely audible and annoyed tone.

"What was that?" Cecilia demanded. Orland just glared at her. "You've got quite an attitude, young man! Do you _want _to be grounded?"

"Ceci," Jake said pleadingly. "Don't humiliate the boy in public."

"Well," Cecilia said angrily. "I think it's about time _the boy _started acting like a man!" She grabbed Orland by one of his long, pointed ears. "Now, you're going to sit down during this ceremony, and you're going to _behave_. Got it, mister?" Orland just stood there scowling. Cecilia started to walk, but she didn't let go of his ear. Orland started crying out in pain.

"Ow!" he shouted. "Jeez! Mom! Okay, I'll do what you say! I'll do it!" I started laughing hysterically at Orland's childish behavior, and closed the door.

"What's so funny?" Leann asked.

"Nothing," I replied, still laughing.

Max came through the door.

"Everybody ready?" he asked.

"Yes," Julia replied. She turned to Leann. "Everything's going to be fine. You look beautiful, and you're marrying someone you really love." Leann gave her a huge hug.

"Thank you," she said.

"Try not to cry, now," Julia said.

"I think I'm going to," Max said.

Suddenly, the church organ started to play.

"I'll be sitting in the front row," Julia said. She ran out the door. Max took Leann by the arm, and I stood behind them. We left the room, and started the walk down the aisle.

The murmurs started immediately as everyone turned to look at us. I looked around. Gordon stood at the front of the church, with Aaron standing up there, looking adoringly at Leann. I started to wonder where Leonel was, but then, I saw him off in the corner, playing the organ.

We finally reached the altar. I stood off to the side, as I had been instructed, and waited. Gordon started to say the introduction.

"Dearly beloved," he began. "We are gathered here today to-" But something interrupted him. It was a sound that I could have sworn I knew, and it sounded like someone had sloshed water all over the ground. I was fairly certain that the entire congregation had heard it.

"What was that?" I whispered to Aaron.

"Oh, that was nothing!" Gordon exclaimed. "We've had a bit of a leak in the roof recently, and while we're waiting to get it fixed, we've put a bucket underneath it. It just so happens to be by Leonel's foot. Now, let's move on with the-"

"Grandfather," Leonel interjected. "Sorry, but, um…that bucket's still upright and completely full."

"Leann," Aaron muttered. "You look kind of pale. Are you okay?" I looked over, and saw that Leann_ was _pale, and shaking like a leaf.

"Th-That wasn't a bucket," she said quietly. "That w-was…me." Aaron's jaw dropped, and mine did as well.

"Wonderful timing, Leann," I said, clapping quietly.

"Holy _shit!_" Aaron shouted. "The baby's coming!" The entire congregation went into an uproar, and some people even started to flee for the doors.

"Watch your language!" Gordon said, although he was laughing. "We're in the presence of God."

Mom, Dad, Max, Julia, Leonel, Ray, Natalie, and Dorothy all came running up to us. Natalie started giving out orders.

"Ray and Dorothy," she said. "Go back to the clinic and get some medical supplies. Once you've got everything, head to the manor. I'll be waiting there. Aaron, make sure that Leann gets home all right, and stay with her until we get there. Julia, follow them home and get Leann out of those clothes and into something more comfortable. The rest of you…do what you want, as long as you don't get in the way." Everyone went off to do what they were asked.

"Don't faint, son!" Dad called after them.

"I'll take Tristan and Arianna," I said to Mom. "You've dealt with them enough today."

"Thank you," Mom said, passing them to me. "Kyle, I'm going to go home and get Aaron some other clothes. Then, we should go with them, just to make sure they're both okay."  
"All right," Dad said.

"I should go with you, too," Max said. They started to walk off. "God, it seems like just yesterday that Leann was born."

"I feel the same way about Aria and Aaron," Mom said.

When they were gone, Gordon shrugged his shoulders and walked back toward his room.

"I'll take Tristan," Leonel said.

"All right," I said, shifting Tristan into his arms. "Do you think we should go to the manor?"

"Probably," he replied. "But we might just get in the way, and we don't want Natalie yelling at us."

"We could wait in the dining hall or something," I said. "It'd be impossible to get in the way there."

"That sounds fine," he said. "Let's go."

We walked the short distance from the church to the manor, and went into the dining hall. Tristan and Arianna had fallen asleep, as usual, although they had started sleeping less as they got bigger. We sat down at the huge table.

"You look great," Leonel said to me.

"Don't I usually?" I asked jokingly. I smiled. "You look great, too. And you played really well."

"Thanks," he said.

We sat for some time, just talking about life. I laughed as I thought of something.

"What?" Leonel asked.

"It's nothing," I replied. "Just one of the stupid things I think about."

"I promise I won't laugh," he said.

"Feel free to laugh," I replied. "Let's just say we could get the twins matching shirts that say 'made in de Sainte-Coquille manor dining hall'."

"Seriously?" he asked, resting his elbow on the table. "You and Orland did it in _here?_"

"Yeah," I replied. "And…if I remember correctly, it was right on this table."

"I didn't need to know that!" he cried, although he was laughing a little.

"I was kidding," I said. "I actually have no idea where it happened, except for that it was somewhere in this room." I paused for a second. "I'm actually kind of glad I barely remember what happened. I'd rather think of my first time as something better than screwing someone you hate in someone else's house." Without any warning, he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

"I love you so much," he whispered. "And I want to give you something you can remember from this room."

"Yeah?" I asked. "Go ahead."

"You'll have to take Tristan," he said. "And close your eyes until I tell you to open them."

"Okay," I said. I was completely unsure of what he was going to do. He handed me Tristan, and then I closed my eyes. After a minute or so, he spoke.

"You can open your eyes now," he said. I slowly opened my eyes and gasped upon doing so.

Leonel was on the ground, but on one knee. He stared up at me, right in my eyes, with a smile on his face. His hand was held up, and in between his thumb and forefinger was a small gold ring with a diamond in the middle.

"Are…are you…?" I started to ask. I was absolutely speechless.

"Am I crazy?" he asked. "Yes. Am I serious? Yes. Am I in love with you? Yes." He paused. "Aria, will you marry me?" There were tears running down my face, and a big smile across it.

"Yes," I said. "Of course I'll marry you! Oh, Lee, I'd give you the biggest hug in the world, but I don't have anywhere to put-" He cut me off by kissing me suddenly.

"That's fine," he said after we broke the kiss. "I'll take one of them back. Let me see your left hand." I handed him Arianna, and gave him my hand. He put the ring on for me.

"I love you," I said to him.

Mom and Dad came into the dining hall.

"Mom!" I cried. "Dad! Look!" I held out my left hand, showing off the beautiful ring.

"We know," Mom said, walking over to give me a hug. "We were all in on this. We didn't know when, of course, but we knew it would happen sometime."

"My last kid's getting married," Dad said, shaking his head. "God, it was tough getting Aaron and Leann to keep quiet about it." There was a high-pitched shriek from upstairs.

"Speaking of them," I asked. "How are they doing?"

"Aaron's been great," Mom said. "I expected him to pass out, but he's been on his feet this whole time. Leann seems to be having a tougher time."

"But everything's going well?" I asked.

"Yes," Mom replied. "I just meant that I never in a million years dreamed of hearing the little de Sainte-Coquille heiress make such a racket. And she's only been in labor for three hours." I laughed.

"Do you think she'll be done soon?" I asked.

"The baby seems to be coming quickly, from what I can tell," Mom said. "But I'm not sure what you mean by 'done'. Once you've got a kid, you're never done." She laughed. "We'll leave you two for a while. Come on, Kyle." They left the dining hall.

Leonel and I, for the next few hours, juggled taking care of the twins and making plans for our wedding. I was so excited, I could barely contain myself. Right after we had decided on a wedding date, the door to the dining hall burst open to reveal a tired but happy-looking Aaron.

"Come on!" he cried, looking like he was going to burst from excitement. "Quickly!" He took off running, and Leonel and I shrugged and followed him up the stairs and into Leann's bedroom.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Just be quiet," Aaron whispered. "She's asleep." He slowly opened the door to the bedroom, and we walked inside.

Leann was reclining in her bed. Her long hair was a mess, and the makeup she had worn for the wedding was gone. She was wearing a white gown, exactly like the one I had worn when I gave birth. But it wasn't Leann who was asleep, like Aaron had led me to believe. In her arms was a bundle of white blankets.

"This," she said proudly. "Is Lillian. Or, as we've been calling her, Lily."

"Let's see her!" I exclaimed.

"_Ssh!_" Aaron and Leann hissed in unison.

"Now you know how I've been feeling," I replied with a laugh.

Leann laid Lily out on her bed, and started to take off the blankets. The first thing I noticed was that the baby was _huge_ compared to mine.

"How much does she weigh?" I asked Leann.

"Nine pounds, eight ounces," Leann replied.

"Jeez," I said, completely amazed. "How'd you manage to squeeze that much baby out?"

"With difficulty," Leann replied, continuing to take off the blankets.

Finally, Lily was in nothing but her little cloth diaper. From what I could tell, she was a spitting image of Leann, with porcelain-like skin, rosy cheeks, and silver hair.

"Aw, guys," I cooed. "She's gorgeous." Upon those words, Lily opened her little eyes, but instead of having bright green ones like Leann, she had Aaron's soft brown eyes.

"I see someone's got an engagement ring," Leann said.

"Yeah," I said, glancing over at Leonel, who was still carrying Arianna.

Leann suddenly looked for a second like her usual, energetic self.

"Lily should meet her cousins!" she exclaimed. "They might end up being good friends."

"I…don't know about that," I said, laughing.

"Come on, Aria," Aaron said. "She just had a nine and a half pound baby."

"Fine," I said. I set Tristan to the left of Lily, and Leonel walked over and set Arianna to the left of Tristan.

"Let's see what they do," Leann whispered excitedly.

Tristan, who had started learning how to roll over, made a full rotation for the first time.

"That's a first," Leonel said. But then, Tristan flailed his right arm, and smacked Lily right in the face. Lily, of course, started screaming. Leann looked horrified, but at the same time, she seemed to be suppressing laughter.

"Well," Aaron said. "Looks like we know who's the toughest." Leann picked up the still-screaming Lily, and tried to get her to stop crying. Arianna made a face that almost looked like a month-and-a-half old version of really pissed off. She must have been, because she lifted up her little hand and hit Tristan in the side of the head, and this time, _he _started to cry. Now, we were all laughing.

"Looks like the bully just got his little baby ass handed to him!" Leonel said, laughing in between words.

"Yeah, Arianna!" Aaron cried. "Show him who's boss!"

"All right, all right," I said, picking Tristan up off the bed. "Let's not make him feel unloved. He learned his lesson."

We continued to talk and laugh, both about weddings and babies. It was a scene that almost seemed to happy to be real. But I knew then that a word existed for such a thing.

Family.

**It's almost over! And that was adorable! *Cries***

**The next chapter will be the last chapter of this story, and it'll be more of an epilogue, as I've mentioned before. And there will be even more cuteness in that one. The title of the sequel will also be revealed.**

**How about me? Two chapters in ONE day! And this one was really freakin' long. I wonder if I can write the epilogue before the end of the day? Let's find out.  
**


	28. Epilogue

Almost four years have passed since the day Aaron and Leann were supposed to get married. Alvarna has also changed a lot since then.

Roy and Cammy ended up getting married, and they had two kids, Alexander, or Alex, and Samantha, or Sammy. Roy still works for his Tanya, and Cammy still runs the bathhouse.

Sera and Serena fought over Orland from the time I got pregnant until the day Orland and Sera got married, three years later. Serena was bitter and jealous, but one day, Sera disappeared. Nobody really knows what happened, but most people think that Sera must have walked in on her husband sleeping with her sister. Some say she left Alvarna for good, while others say she killed herself. Rosalind and Ray were heartbroken, and Cecilia and Jake were so humiliated that they demanded that Orland and Serena leave town. They did. Last I heard, they moved out into the countryside, about two hours away from a small town called Trampoli.

Aaron and Leann did end up getting married, and it was a beautiful ceremony. Needless to say, Leann's backup dress came in handy. It took her three months, starting from her actual wedding, to lose the baby weight she had put on from Lily, when she started gaining it again. Their second child, Flora, was born just a week after their first wedding anniversary. You'd think they'd never heard of the word "protection". I still love them to pieces, though.

And as for me, I married Leonel. That day was the happiest of my life. He's a great husband, and I'm sure he always will be. He's training to be a teacher like his father, but he still loves music. We've made a ton of expansions to our house, and we even managed to get money for a piano. Aaron and I have also been helping out with the farming, which has been really successful.

We haven't worked today, though, because it just so happens to be Tristan and Arianna's fourth birthday.

"Why do _I _have to help with decorations?" Aaron asks as we hang up some streamers.

"Because," I say to him. "In a month and a half, it's going to be Lily's birthday, and you're going to be pleading for me to help you."

"Just because it's happened before doesn't mean it'll happen again," he says with a laugh. Leann walks in, all four children following after her.

Tristan, the oldest of the group, is not a leader at all, aside from being overprotective of Arianna. He's hyperactive, out of control, and a bit of a macho man, for his age. He loves a good joke, though, and will laugh at just about anything, especially profanity and potty humor. He's also a handsome little guy, with an adorable smile, a mop of red hair, and those blue-green eyes. Unfortunately, his speech is a little bit hard to understand at times. Mom says he'll grow out of it.

Arianna, on the other hand, is a polar opposite of her brother. Although they look almost exactly alike, their expressions are always completely different. While Tristan is constantly smiling at everyone and everything, Arianna's expression is usually deadpan. She's very shy; while Tristan, Lily, and Flora are all playing, Arianna prefers to stay off on the sidelines and look at picture books, or dig in the dirt. Of course, Tristan always invites her to go play with them, but Arianna always refuses. I don't worry about her weight or anything, though, because she's as skinny as a rail and doesn't eat much, but I worry about her in plenty of other ways. She's got a little breathing problem, probably left over from when she was a baby. She's also incredibly hot-headed, and if you piss her off badly enough, she'll go ballistic. Biting is her specialty. But deep down, I think she's really a sweet girl, who just wants to fit in but doesn't really know how. I think it's just because she's really, _really _smart, and doesn't quite know how to relate.

Lily is more of the leader of the group. She's exactly like Leann in terms of personality, and…well, let's just say they have the same brain. Only once Lily started talking, she never stopped, and she keeps getting better and better all the time. She's a gorgeous little girl, and whenever she says, "Daddy? Please?" and stares up at Aaron with those eyes, she gets whatever she's asking for…within reason, of course. And she'll argue with anyone about anything. She's one of those types that thinks she's always right. She _loves _to play dress up, which includes makeup. Of course, she doesn't quite know how to use the lipstick, so she gets it all over her face, but Leann always makes it sound like what she does is the greatest thing in the world.

And then there's Flora, the baby. One might think that she tries to be exactly like her big sister, but that's far from true. Flora's quite the little tomboy, and she loves to play with Tristan. Even though Leann tries to doll her up in little dresses, she always ends up getting them dirty. Even at almost three years old, she still knows how to cause trouble for Aaron and Leann. Sometimes, when the kids play out in the yard, she ends up running so fast that she reaches the clinic before anyone even thinks to ask, "Where's Flora?" She was funny, too. The way she confused verb tenses always had us joking about how she wasn't really Leann and Aaron's child, but that she was a foreigner trapped in a little girl's body.

"Mommy!" Tristan cries, running up to me.

"Hey, bud!" I exclaim in return, picking him up. "What's up?"

"I maked up a doke wif Fora!" he declares.

"A joke?" I ask. "Okay, let's hear it."

"Whadida orc say to da buffmoo?" he asked.

"Can I guess?" I ask him. He nodded excitedly. "Okay…they didn't say anything, because orcs and buffamoos can't talk?"

"No!" he replies, laughing. "Fora, you tell!"

"I forgotted," Flora says. "I was play in the mud." She thinks for a second. "Oh, yeah! The orc say to buffamoo _shit!_" Tristan and Flora start laughing hysterically, while Aaron and Leann stare at me, shaking their heads. I set Tristan on the floor, and he takes off running.

"Um, that's a bad word," Lily announces.

"Yeah, Lil," Aaron says, hanging up some streamers. "That's why we don't say it."

"What do you mean, Daddy?" she asks, looking up at him. "I heard you say that word when you fell down the stairs!"

"Busted," I say with a laugh.

"All right," Aaron says. "You can say that word when you're twenty-one years old and _you _fall down the stairs, okay?"

"Okay!" Lily exclaims. She starts skipping off in the direction of the play table Dad built for them.

I look, and see that Arianna is standing by the door, shifting back and forth from toe to heel.

"I tried again to get her to P-L-A-Y with the others," Leann whispers. "But she didn't want to."

"I never want to play with them," Arianna says. Leann, Aaron, and I jump about a foot in the air.

"Where'd you learn to spell that, sweetie?" I say, kneeling down to talk to her.

"I don't remember," she replies. "When is Daddy getting home?"

Before I can answer, I hear a piercing scream from the other side of the room. Tristan's chasing Lily and roaring, that's pretty normal. But this time, he's got a poker from the fireplace in his hand. That's…not so normal. I run over, and snatch it out of his hands.

"Dumbass," I mutter. Luckily, he doesn't hear, and starts doing a dance of some sort. Flora starts laughing hysterically, and even Lily giggles a little.

The door opens, and the kids stop dead in their tracks.

"Daddy!" Tristan shrieks. Arianna's face lights up a little, too, and they both run toward the door. I turn around, and see that Leonel is home from studying with Barrett. I smile, walk up to him, and kiss him.

"Hey, Lee," I say. "How was your day?"

"Okay," he replies. He looks down at the ground, and laughs. "It looks like I have a growth." I look down as well, and see that Tristan is giving him a tight hug around his leg.

"All right," I say to Tristan. "Get off Daddy's leg, or I'll have Grandpa Kyle get the pliers out." Tristan looks up, and runs away.

"Speaking of which," Leonel says. "Are we going to wait for them, or are we starting without them?"

"Are you crazy?" I ask. He smiles.

"Only a little," he replies, looking over at Tristan, who has started whacking the air with his wooden sword.

Dad, Mom, Barrett, and Dorothy walk through the door, and all of them have giant packages in their hands.

"Lotsa peasant!" Tristan cries. Arianna's eyes widen, but she doesn't say anything.

"Perfect timing," I say. Lily walks up to Mom, and gazes up at her.

"May I please have one, Grandma Mana?" she asks politely. Mom just laughs.

"Let's serve up dinner," I say to Leann.

Leann goes off to serve some of the food, and I start off as well, but Mom stops me.

"Have you been feeling any better?" she asks.

"What are you talking about?" I reply.

"That upset stomach," she says.

"Oh, yeah," I say. "Well, I went to go see Natalie yesterday. It's nothing."

"Oh," Mom said. "That's good."

We all have dinner and enjoy ourselves, especially when Tristan first sees the cake. But eventually, the time comes for the party to be over, especially since all four kids are having sugar crashes from the cake and ice cream.

"We'll clean up," Dad tells us. "Those kids all need to go to bed."

"Thanks, Dad," I say.

We carry the kids up the stairs, and into the nursery. We help them get into their pajamas, and tuck them in. Then, we turn off the lights, and hope that they won't wake up from a nightmare or ask for a drink of water.

Leonel and I say goodnight to Leann and Aaron, and go off to our respective bedrooms. I close the door behind us, and Leonel sits down on the edge of our bed.

"God," he says. "I'm exhausted."

"I don't think so," I reply, smiling at him. I sat down next to him.

"You don't think so?" he asks. He suddenly realizes what my intentions are. "Wait, Aria! No…not tonight. I've had kind of a tough day." I try to think of something that I can do, and my mind settles on one thing.

_He's got to know anyway, _I think.

"Fine," I say. "I guess I have no choice, then."

"What?" he asks.

"We're going to play a guessing game," I say, getting up from the bed. "You're going to guess what I have to tell you, and I'll tell you how close you are by temperature."

"All right," he says, seeming more interested. "Let's see…Arianna learned to read."

"Well," I say. "She can spell a little now, but that's not it. I'd say you're freezing."

"You've got a rare medical condition," he guesses. "And you've only got a few months to live?"

"Room temperature," I reply.

"Okay," he says. "Getting closer. The rare medical condition you have…is it related to that upset stomach you've been having?"

"Burning hot!" I exclaim. I was starting to get really excited. "Do you want me to tell you?"

"I think I should know about whatever this is," he says, standing up and hugging me. "You're okay, though, right?"

"Depends on your viewpoint," I reply. "I went to the clinic the other day."  
"I figured," he says.

I pull him closer to me, and put my mouth right up next to his ear.

"I'm pregnant," I whisper excitedly. I look at him, smiling bigger than I have in a long time. He just stares at me.

"Are you serious?" he asks.

"Yeah, Lee," I say. I start to get a little nervous that his reaction might not be that great. "Why would I make something like that up?" I watched as his expression slowly changed from shocked to ecstatic, and mine changes as well.

"Oh my God," he says quietly. He brings up the volume of his voice. "Oh my God!"

"Be quiet, you," I say. "You're going to wake up the kids we already ha-" Without any warning, he kisses me on the mouth.

"I could stay up all night now," he tells me.

The door opens suddenly, and I look and see that it's Leann and Aaron.

"If you guys are going to fight," Leann says sleepily. "Could you maybe go outside?"

"We're not fighting!" I protest.

"Why would we be?" Leonel asks. He spins me around, so we're facing the same direction, and his hand is on my stomach, which has already grown a little. "She's got a baby in there!" Aaron and Leann suddenly start freaking out. I turn to face Leonel, and we kiss, despite the fact that Aaron and Leann are standing right there.

Life is one of those things where you have it all planned out, or you don't. Either way, whatever your plans are, something's going to come along and screw it up, or change it so that you're so happy you feel like you're going to explode. I was lucky enough to get the latter.

I've had a wonderful life so far. I've got a loving husband, two beautiful children, and another one on the way. I've got supportive parents and amazing in-laws. I've got an awesome brother, a sister-in-law I couldn't hate if I tried, and two adorable nieces.

And I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything in the world. Sure, there were some obstacles along the way, but those obstacles only made me stronger. My life is better than I ever thought it would be, and it's all thanks to everyone in my life right now. And of course, teenage stupidity with a trace of hormones.

_The End._

**"Viva la Arianna?": Coming soon to a Rune Factory fanfiction community near you.**

**P.S.: I actually wrote three chapters in one day. I feel happy and relieved, but also like a zombie.**

**P.P.S.: I hope the use of present tense wasn't too weird for you guys. It sure as hell was for me.  
**


	29. BONUS Leonel's Bravery

**Hey all! I mentioned to some people that I might be writing bonus chapters for this, even though it's technically finished. Still, I decided to do it! And I might be using different POVs later on, too! Anyway, this one takes place shortly after chapter 9, when Aria and Leonel name the twins.**

* * *

Leann and Aaron had been baby crazy pretty much from the get-go, but that exploded to a whole new level when Aaron felt Lily kick for the first time. Soon enough, the house was littered with catalogs for nursery decor, pregnancy books, and boxes full of toys from Aaron's and my childhood. They were happy, no denying that.

And that alone was driving me up the wall.

I wasn't _unhappy, _really, but sometimes, I felt like they were rubbing it in my face that I didn't have anyone to discuss future plans with. My twins' father would prefer squeezing my anti-morning sickness lemons into his eyes to just taking a few minutes of time to listen to my complaints, to ask to feel my growing belly, or even learn the twins' names. And yet, he had the nerve to take my virginity.

I honestly wondered not only what had been going through my head at the time, but also _his _head when he agreed to sleep with me_. _He made it clear when we were _children _that he found me unattractive, annoying, and less interesting than books, and not in the teasing sort of way. He was just plain mean. But all it took to get him to have sex with me was one drunken request? The only explanation I could think of was that he was just as hammered as I was.

But one day I was sick of just wondering and decided to ask him about it.

He was sitting on a bench under a cherry blossom tree reading a complicated-looking book, and I tried to walk up to him as confidently as I possibly could.

"Hey Orland," I said, getting ready to surrender all dignity. Before I could even ask the question, though, he spoke.

"Don't talk to me," he said in his usual, monotone voice. "I don't have any business with whores." I clenched my fists. Even though I should have expected something like that out of him, I was still mad.

"I could say the same to _you, _jackass," I hissed. "But I have a question."

"Hm," he muttered. "As long as it's not another plea for me to give up my ambitions in order to take care of _that-_" He pointed at my stomach. "Then I'll listen."

"First of all," I said angrily. "There are _two _of them. Second, I didn't plead you to do shit. And wow, you'll _listen. That's _a first."

"Ask your question and leave," he spat. However, he didn't seem truly angry, and that was beyond annoying. I sighed, and braced myself for any response.

"Why did you do it?" I asked. I figured he would know what I meant.

"I presume you're talking about your careless decision to throw away your virginity?" he asked. I didn't say a word. "Well, you're stupid to begin with, but getting wasted leads to poor judgment. Anyone knows that."

"I'm talking about _you, _asshole," I said through my teeth. "Why did you agree to do it?" He smirked, finally looking at me with those evil eyes.

"I don't exactly know," he replied. "I must have been pretty wasted as well to have mistaken you for Sera or Serena. There's very little similarity in terms of appearance." He scowled before going back to his book.

At that point, I could barely contain my anger, and I was really sick of his crap. So, I lashed out.

"Listen to me," I started to say, grabbing his book. My plan was to throw it down on the ground as soon as I did so, but that changed. As soon as I touched the binding, he grabbed my wrist with unbelievable speed, and while gripping it tightly, he pressed down. I cried out in pain as my whole arm felt numb; what the hell did he do?

"Pressure points," he said, as if reading my mind. "Very helpful in situations like these."

"Aria!" I heard someone call out. "What are you doing over there?" It was Leonel's voice.

"Training to be a doctor can be very useful indeed," Orland continued, lowering his voice. "So many interesting facets of the human body and mind." I felt his other hand creep to my midriff, and my heart started pounding. "Maybe...such a childish girl isn't fit to be a mother...but I could correct that, if you'd like."

"_Stop it!_" I was finally able to cry out. Tears were forming in my eyes, but luckily, he let go, just as I heard Aaron, Leann, and Leonel come up to me.

"What are you doing over here?" Aaron asked. I turned to face him, and he went white as a sheet as soon as he saw how terrified I looked. Leann immediately came and hugged me.

Meanwhile, Leonel was walking quickly over to Orland.

"What did you do to her?" he asked angrily. When Orland didn't answer, Leonel grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him off the bench. "What did you do?"

"Let go of me, you pathetic waste of life," Orland growled. "I didn't do anything...right Aria?" Leonel let go of him, but he still didn't back down.

"Look at her," Leonel said angrily. "I can't even imagine how many times Aria has stared death in the face, including fighting a dragon god. And now, she's scared out of her mind because _you didn't do anything._" He turned away from him, his fists balled up. "You make me sick." And for some reason, Orland didn't decide to fight back.

"Let's go, sis," Aaron said. I nodded, and we started off in the other direction.

As scared as I was before, my emotions had changed to shock. The last time Leonel and Orland had exchanged any words, Leonel was pushed down into the mud, defeated and humiliated. But something triggered in his mind when he saw me crying, and the reaction was enough to leave Orland stunned.

"What the hell possessed you to talk to him?" Leonel asked as the four of us sat down on the benches opposite of where Orland was.

"It's...embarrassing," I replied.

"And somehow you wanted to talk to him about it?" Aaron asked.

"Shut up," I said. But still, he had a point, so I gave in. "Promise you won't think I'm an idiot?"

"Well, you _are _an idiot," Aaron said. I laughed.

"I...I wanted to know why he decided to, um..." I said, trailing off. I figured that would be enough to let them know what I meant.

But suddenly, Leonel gave me a hug.

"Why does it even matter?" he asked gently.

"He's right," Aaron said. "Obviously, you have no interest in him, and you shouldn't. The guy's not right in the head, so who cares why?" Leann hugged me tightly.

"But you _are _a pretty girl!" Leann squealed. "Right, Leonel?" Leonel's cheeks turned pink.

"Wh-what?" he asked. "Y-Yeah, I guess so..." I laughed.

"What do you mean, you guess so?" Aaron asked jokingly.

"Don't tease him like that!" I said. "He just saved my ass!"

We spent the rest of the lunch break away from Orland, and it didn't take me long to feel better. Still, I couldn't get over Leonel's display of true bravery, and how he defended me. And right before we went inside, I wanted to thank him for it.

"Leonel," I said as he was walking in the door. He stopped, and turned to look at me.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Thanks for that...you know, earlier," I said.

"Don't mention it," he said, smiling. "Anyone would intervene if they saw that."

"Maybe," I said. "But still, thank you." He started to walk back into the building, and I smiled. "And I'm not letting you off the hook for that 'I guess so'!" He laughed, and turned to face me again.

"Oh, I think you might change your mind," he said.

With that, we headed back into the school building, and even through the rest of the day's class, I wondered what he meant, as unimportant as it probably was.

* * *

**How was it? I enjoyed writing this one because we got to see a side of Orland that isn't truly shown otherwise until VLA. Although he really is crazy...**


	30. BONUS Stupid Barrett

As month four approached and the morning sickness was almost entirely gone, I found a new best friend: food.

The way people talked about pregnancy cravings always made them seem like a bitch to have, but honestly, food had never tasted so good before. The only problem was, I got really irritated at everyone when I couldn't figure out what I wanted to eat. Sometimes it was so bad that it kept me up at night.

Barrett's morning class on a Monday after an almost-all-nighter, due to heartburn and trying to dispel the thought of drinking a whole bottle of Caesar salad dressing that we didn't have in the house, did nothing to help that, either. It was almost time for lunch, but I was so hungry that I could barely stand it. And I was distracted beyond belief. All I could think of was what might be in my lunch bag, and sleep.

"Aria," Barrett said. I looked up, eyes narrowed.

"What?" I asked, so angrily that he looked a little shocked.

"Do you know what we're talking about in class right now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. I muttered a curse and started scribbling forcefully on my notebook. "Aria..." I kept on scribbling, not taking my eyes off whatever the hell I was drawing. "Are you listening?"

"No, I'm Aria," I replied, smiling. "Stupid head." I couldn't quite figure out _why _I was acting like a stubborn child, but I still felt the need to do so. I started writing S-T-O-O-P-I-D on my notebook.

"What...?" Barrett asked, obviously very perplexed at the situation. I felt a little dizzy all of a sudden.

"Hmph, now _my_ head is stupid," I whined.

"Your head is...okay, Aria," Barrett said, regaining his usual firm demeanor. "If you're not feeling well, someone can walk you over to the clinic. It's important that you-"

"No!" I shouted. "There's no lunch food at the clinic!" I suddenly decided that the argument was uninteresting, and decided to look around. Everyone was staring at me. "Aw, I'm tired now." I put my head down on my desk.

"Let's break for lunch," Barrett said. "Aaron, will you please help your sister get something to eat while I run over to the clinic to get some help?"

"I'll do it, Dad," Leonel said. I heard him get up from his chair, and he touched my arm. "Come on, Aria. We're eating lunch now."

"Carry me," I muttered.

"I can't," he replied. "I'm not strong enough, and if I drop you, that could be really bad. I can help you walk, though."

I lifted my head, and he helped me up, grabbing my lunch out of my desk. After what seemed like forever, we met up with Aaron and Leann. I sat down on a bench, and Leonel sat next to me.

"I'm eating now," I said, attempting to open the paper bag. When I couldn't quite figure out where the top was, I tore it apart.

"Jeez, Aria," Aaron said. "You're a mess. What did you do?"

"The bag was...being mean," I said, struggling to find the words.

"Being mean?" Aaron repeated. Then, his expression changed, as though he had just figured something out. "Aria, how long did you sleep last night?"

"A half...I think..." I replied. "No, a half isn't a number. I remember...the clock said six or some number thing."

"There's your answer," Leonel said, shrugging.

I started eating my sandwich, and I felt a bit more content.

"Food makes the hungry go away," I said, smiling.

"Yes, it does," Leann said, nodding as though talking to a small child. I ate the rest quickly, since I was starting to feel tired again.

"Sleepy..." I muttered. I started leaning against Leonel, snuggling up to him. I closed my eyes.

"Uh, Aria," he said, sounding nervous. "Could you maybe-"

"Shush," I said. "You're a pillow...pillows don't talk..." Before long, I fell asleep.

Some time later, though, I woke up in a bed at the clinic.

"Oh, you're awake," I heard Natalie say. I sat up slowly, looking around.

"Why am I here?" I asked.

"Because you needed sleep," she replied. "And we needed to make sure you were okay. Everything's fine, but you need to take better care of yourself." My eyes widened as I recalled what took place before I fell asleep. I wanted to crawl under a rock; how could I humiliate myself like that _and_ put myself and the twins in danger? I started to cry.

"I'm so stupid!" I said. "I stayed up all night thinking about _food! _Ugh, I'm such an idiot..."

"You're not," Natalie said, smiling at me. "I've had two children myself. I can understand the feeling."

Dorothy came into the room.

"Aria, your father is here to pick you up," she said. I blushed, thinking what stories Barrett and Leonel might bring to the dinner table that night. "Don't be embarrassed, dear, I've called Barrett plenty of names as well."

"Really?" I asked. She laughed.

"And now that I think about it," she said. "Leonel has always been quite snuggly." I blushed even more.

"No way!" I said. "I mean, Leonel's a nice guy and all, but I was sleep-deprived, so...but yeah, I wasn't snuggling him."

"What?" Dad exclaimed, barging into the room. "What did you do with Leonel?"

"Nothing!" I replied.

"I was just joking with her, Kyle," Dorothy said.

"Oh," Dad said. "Well, come on, Aria."

"Am I going back to school?" I asked, grimacing.

"You're absolutely going back to school," he replied. "You've already missed so much." I whined, and lay back down. "Aria."

_Great, _I thought. _He's using his "dad voice" now._

"Fine," I replied. "But when I get home, I'm sleeping."

"Fair enough," Dad said.

Satisfied with the compromise, I got out of bed and started walking back to school with Dad.

"You don't need to walk me to school," I said.

"Yes I do," he said. "I'm not letting you pass out again."

"I didn't pass out," I protested, but then I figured there was no point in arguing with him.

As we approached the school building, I wondered how everyone would react when they saw I was back. I was still a little embarrassed about the whole thing. And to make matters worse, Barrett was sitting on a bench, reading as usual.

"Hey, stupid head," Dad greeted. Barrett looked up, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Hello, Kyle," he replied.

I hit my palm against my forehead, wondering why in the hell I chose _that_ as an insult, and if I would ever live it down.

**I planned on writing a different chapter entirely, but I'll write that later. I had too much fun with this. Thanks to author K. Riley, I've been imagining a ton of situations with Barrett being awkward in class, and this came to my mind.**

**I was also tempted to add in a bro handshake kind of thing between Barrett and Kyle just to embarrass Aria even more, but I decided against it. Maybe in another chapter. XD**


End file.
